Quest for justice drove Palm Bay police investigation into teen killings at The Compound

PALM BAY — Chrisel Brown watched quietly from the courtroom gallery as one of the suspects charged in the double slaying of her 14-year-old son and another teen in “The Compound” appeared before the judge. The suspect, a teen himself, locked eyes with her — and smiled. “He just looked at us and smiled,” Brown said. “Literally it was just mind-blowing. I just don’t think they understood what they’ve done … of lives being lost.” That moment was devastating for the Palm Bay mom. But that February pre-trial hearing before a Brevard County Juvenile Court judge also represented something else to Brown: a long-awaited step toward justice, 14 months after she lost her son in a slaying that shocked the…