A 23-year-old Louisiana man, Brynnen Murphy, has pleaded guilty in connection to the 2022 killing of his pregnant girlfriend and her 2-year-old son, Kaylen and Kayden Johnson. Murphy admitted to killing Kaylen Johnson and later dumping her body in the woods. He then claimed that he threw Keylen's son, Kayden, over a bridge.
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According to Fox 8, back on March 11, 2022, family members reported both Kaylen and Kayden Johnson missing. They haven't heard from them in days and were worried about their well-being. As per KLFY, Murphy initially denied knowing anything about Kaylen's and Kayden's whereabouts. Murphy's vehicle was towed and stored for evidence, with investigators finding blood evidence in the car.
Three days after the report, however, Brynnen Murphy turned himself in to the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Back then, he reportedly admitted to fatally shooting Kaylen Johnson after they both engaged in a heated argument. The couple was dating, and Kaylen was pregnant with Murphy's baby. After the fatal shooting, Murphy dumped her body in the woods located off of Burbank Drive.
At the time of the shooting, two-year-old Kayden Johnson was inside her mother's car. Murphy drove the car to Central Throughway. There, Murphy threw the toddler off the side of a bridge, resulting in his death.
Charged And Convicted
After turning himself in, Brynnen Murphy was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. However, after the Johnson family agreed, he then accepted a plea deal on lesser charges. He pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and one count of first-degree feticide. Murphy now faces up to 95 years in prison, with his sentencing being scheduled for June 10.
According to District Attorney Hilla Moore, the guilty plea will save the family from undergoing a "graphic trial," as per Fox 8. Moore stated that the sentence will be "pretty much a life sentence,"
"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," Moore said. "There's no other sentence than what he agreed to today, so this is a guaranteed sentence, he's practically doing life in prison."
The Johnson family will be able to deliver a statement during Murphy's formal sentencing.
