A Baton Rouge man who killed his pregnant girlfriend and her two-year-old son reaches a plea deal with prosecutors.
Three years ago, Brynnen Murphy, who’s now 23, shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend, Kaylen Johnson, 24; and he threw her two-year-old son, Kaden, off a bridge.
Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and one count of first-degree feticide.
East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore says Johnson’s family wanted to avoid a trial.
“The surviving family members made it clear fromthe beginning of this case that they did not want to seek the death penalty,” said Moore, “that they were satisfied to proceed with the second-degree murder charges.
“They’re really struggling with the fact that the family members would have to be witnesses in this case, and they really did not want to put themselves on the stand in a public trial setting that could carry on for some time,” Moore continues.
Moore says he would have had no trouble convicting Murphy of the second-degree murder charges he was originally facing.
“We, in our opinion, had a very strong case,” Moore says. “We thing we would have proven our case beyond a reasonable doubt. But our first priority is our victims and their families and their future.”
Despite the lesser charges that Murphy pleaded guilty to, Moore says he will never see the light of day again from outside a prison setting.
“This resulted in a sentence of 40 years for manslaughter plus 40 years for manslaughter plus 15 years for first-degree feticide (all to be served consecutively), for a total of 95 years — effectively a life sentence,” says Moore.
Murphy will be formally sentenced June 10th.
Comments