BATON ROUGE — The man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend Kaylen Johnson and tossing her young son over the Central Thruway in 2022 has accepted a plea deal. Brynnen Murphy, who was 20 at the time of the murders, pled guilty to two counts of manslaughter and one count of feticide.
By doing this, Murphy will receive the maximum sentence of 40 years for each count of manslaughter and 15 years for feticide, said District Attorney Hillar Moore.
Moore said that the sentences will run consecutively, so Murphy is looking at 95 years in Angola.
“I think this is a really good resolution to which is pretty much a life sentence,” Moore said.
The family of Kaylen Johnson and then two-year-old Kaden Johnson did not want to pursue the death penalty, the district attorney explained. The plea deal was created in part to help the families, who did not want to testify in court due to the high emotions of the situation, he said.
Murphy’s sentencing is scheduled for June 10.
“At that time, the witnesses and victims’ families will have a chance to say what they want or let us read what they want us to say,” Moore said.
Both BRPD and EBRSO were involved in searching for Kaylen Johnson and her young son after they were reported missing. The two hadn’t been seen since March 5, 2022
The bodies of Kaylen Johnson and her child Kaden Johnson were found in two separate locations on March 14th.
Murphy turned himself into Baton Rouge Police that same day after admitting to officers he allegedly shot and dumped his girlfriend’s body on March 5th. He added that Kaden Johnson was alive when he allegedly tossed him over the Central Thruway and then drove off despite hearing him cry.
He was charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of first degree feticide.
Murphy’s grandfather spoke to UWK in July 2024, expressing his regret and wishing the situation had never escalated how it did.
“If I could have done anything, anything in my power to have prevented this from happening, I would have done it,” said Alfred Murphy.
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