Darriynn Brown was an eighteen year old living in Dallas Texas when he would kidnap and murder four year old Cash Gernon
According to court documents Darriynn Brown would kidnap Cash Gernon from his home. The body of the four year old would be found in the street less than a mile away. The little boy had been stabbed multiple times
Darriynn Brown would be arrested, plead guilty and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for thirty years
Where Is Darriynn Brown Now
Darriynn Brown is not listed in the Texas Department Of Criminal Justice meaning he is being held out of State due to safety concerns
Darriynn Brown Case
A man who was accused of kidnapping and murdering 4-year-old Cash Gernon in 2021 pleaded guilty and will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Darriynn Ronnell Brown, who was 18 years old when he committed the crime, was in a Dallas County courtroom on Monday with his attorney, Heath Harris, when he made the plea.
Brown’s trial was set to begin on Monday with jury selection, but Harris announced he waived the right to a jury trial, immediately making his guilty plea. The prosecution reached a plea deal where he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, instead of capital murder, which he was charged with in 2021.
According to Harris, he initially planned to go forward with an insanity defense, but Brown wanted to admit to the judge that he committed the murder.
During the court appearance, Brown was with Harris, who had his arm over his shoulder the whole time. They then listened to victim impact statements from the boy’s family.
“I wish you nothing but misery,” said the grandmother of Gernon.
Gernon was at a home in Dallas on May 15, 2021 with his twin brother when he was abducted. The woman who had the child in her care, Monica Sherrod, was the girlfriend of Cash’s father.
The body of Gernon was found in the 7500 block of Saddleridge Drive, about a half-mile from the home. He was lying in a pool of blood, had multiple wounds from what investigators say was “an edged weapon” and did not have on a shirt or shoes.
A jogger discovered Gernon’s body. The woman told CBS News Texas that she initially thought what she was seeing was a dog, but quickly realized it wasn’t.
Dallas man to spend life in prison, admits to murdering 4-year-old Cash Gernon in 2021 – CBS Texas
Darriynn Brown News
The man accused in the 2021 kidnapping and fatal stabbing of 4-year-old Cash Gernon pleaded guilty just before the start of his capital murder trial.
Jury selection was set to begin on Monday morning for 22-year-old Darriynn Brown’s capital murder trial for the death of 4-year-old Cash Gernon.
Instead, Brown pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge and was immediately sentenced to life in prison.
He does have the possibility of parole.
Brown was charged with capital murder, as well as kidnapping and burglary, in connection to Gernon’s death.
In May 2021, Gernon’s body was found stabbed to death on Saddleridge Drive, eight blocks from his home in a southwest Dallas neighborhood.
“The sweetest little boy. He loved everybody,” Cameron Mori told FOX 4 in a 2021 interview.
Mori’s mom had been taking care of Cash and his twin brother. She was friends with their father, who left them with her. Their mother was not around.
Police arrested Darriynn Brown the same day the child’s body was discovered. An arrest affidavit indicated that DNA evidence and video captured on a baby camera during the kidnapping linked Brown to the crime
The case has been marked by delays as questions surrounding Brown’s mental health were addressed. Brown’s attorney stated shortly after the arrest that Brown was schizophrenic and had been released from a mental health facility just prior to the slaying.
After spending years in a state hospital, a judge in January of this year declared Brown competent to stand trial, meaning he is legally capable of understanding the charges against him
The death penalty was on the table. Brown’s defense attorney, Heath Harris, was expected to use an insanity defense, but after certain evidence, he informed Darriyinn Brown a plea deal was the best option.
“We realized we got 3 different doctors’ reports that all say they don’t believe he qualifies for insanity,” said Harris.
“Things like him hiding the knife once he gets back to his mom’s house. Also, taking a different direction to avoid cameras, you know.”
After 30 years, Brown will have the possibility of parole. Harris admits that possibility is very slim. Fox 4 also asked Harris if Brown ever disclosed to him why he murdered cash.
“That’s what the voices told him to do. The voices told him that Cash was special and that if he killed Cash he would get superhuman powers.”
Shortly after brown pleaded guilty, prosecutors read out loud victim impact statements from Cash Gernon’s family. Family members called Brown a monster and a coward who ruined so many lives.
One statement read: “I hope you seek god while you are in prison because you need him worse than anyone I’ve ever known in my life.”
Brown didn’t have any real reaction to the statements and left the courtroom quietly.
