When a 23-year-old man in Louisiana shot and killed his pregnant fiancée, then drove off with her 2-year-old son and threw the boy, who was still alive, off a bridge to his death, he will probably spend the rest of his life in prison.
Authorities said that Brynnen Murphy formally entered a guilty plea on Wednesday to two counts of manslaughter and one count of first-degree feticide.
In 2022, Murphy was first taken into custody and accused with two charges of first-degree murder in connection with the ruthless killings of Kaylen Johnson, 24, and her son, young Kaden Johnson.
Prior to reaching an agreement with prosecutors in the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office, he was later charged with second-degree murder by a grand jury, and his trial was set to start the following week.
According to a report, Murphy’s plea deal calls for him to serve 95 years in a state jail facility, which is equivalent to a de facto life sentence.
Although Kaylen Johnson was carrying Murphy’s child at the time of her death, Kaden was not Murphy’s biological son.
Given the gruesome nature of the case, prosecutors reportedly stated that they were eager to reach an agreement with Murphy in order to spare the victims’ relatives further suffering during the trial.
“Obviously, autopsies were involved in this, and some of those photographs have to be shown and then just the description by the pathologist of how the deaths occurred, and how the bodies were disposed of, it would be brutal for a family to go through this,” After the plea hearing, District Attorney Hilla Moore reportedly remarked outside the courtroom. “There’s no other sentence than what he agreed to today, so this is a guaranteed sentence, he’s practically doing life in prison.”
According to The Advocate, she added that her office feels the sentencing provided the victims with justice.
“The main goal was to bring justice to the family, but to also keep them out of court from having to go through a trial and testifying in court. And we think this sentence is surely adequate,” she stated.
Family members started to worry after they couldn’t get in touch with Johnson for almost a week, even though the mother and son had been last seen alive on March 5, 2022. She and Kaden were then reported missing by the family.
On March 11, 2022, at around 2:40 p.m., police conducted a wellness check at Johnson’s residence on Old Hammond Highway.
Police observed that Johnson’s cellphone had been disconnected, but they said there were no indications of foul activity within the house.
After her car was found abandoned on a dead-end street with the license plates removed, and an initially unhelpful Murphy apparently went to ground, Johnson’s family started to fear the worst.
“We found her car without the license plate on it. And from there it raised an eyebrow. One of the guys made contact with him, he refused to give information and disappeared,” a spokesperson for the Baton Rouge Police Department stated. “He knew we were actively looking for him. He knew the mom and the 2-year-old were missing. So from there, the family was reaching out. He was out on the streets and he decided to turn himself in.”
Murphy allegedly admitted to both murders after he was taken into custody, telling investigators that he and Johnson had a fight after Johnson picked him up on March 5, 2022, according to the Advocate.
Murphy shot her twice in the head after Johnson pulled the car over.
During the shooting, the youngster was securely fastened in the rear of a car seat. After then, Murphy is said to have disposed of Johnson’s body in a drainage ditch at the side of the road.
Murphy then allegedly drove to a 30-foot elevated bridge on Central Thruway while Kaden was still in the backseat, where he threw the sobbing youngster over the side. Prosecutors, however, said the toddler was not gravely hurt in the fall.
During the guilty hearing, Assistant District Attorney Jaclyn Christie Chapman stated, “It was determined that Kaden sustained no injuries from being thrown over the bridge. But instead died as a result of starvation and exposure to elements for a sustained period of time.”
According to police, the mother and boy seemed to have died a week or so ago.
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