In a harrowing court case in Louisiana, 23-year-old Brynnen Murphy admitted to two counts of manslaughter and one count of first-degree feticide. Initially arrested in 2022, Murphy faced charges for the deaths of 24-year-old Kaylen Johnson and her two-year-old son Kaden Johnson.

As reported by LawandCrime, Murphy was later indicted on second-degree murder charges by a grand jury. His trial was set to commence next week until he entered into a plea bargain with the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office.

Under this deal, Murphy will serve a staggering 95 years behind bars, essentially amounting to life imprisonment, as disclosed by Baton Rouge's CBS affiliate WAFB.

Toddler Kaden was not biologically Murphy's child, but Kaylen Johnson was pregnant with Murphy’s baby at the time of her death. Prosecutors were keen to reach an agreement to prevent further anguish for the bereaved family by avoiding a lengthy trial process, particularly given the case's extremely disturbing evidence and Murphy's gruesome crime.

District Attorney Hilla Moore said: "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.

"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 main goal was to bring justice to the family, but also to spare them from having to go through a trial and testify in court. And we think this sentence is surely adequate."

LawandCrime previously reported the mother and son were last seen alive on March 5, 2022, but relatives began to worry when they couldn't reach Johnson for nearly a week.

They then reported her and Kaden missing to authorities who conducted a welfare check. While there were no signs of struggle at Johnson's property, officers did notice her mobile phone had been disconnected.

The family's worst fears began to materialise when her car was found abandoned on a dead-end street. The number plates had been removed and Murphy, who initially refused to co-operate, reportedly went into hiding.

A representative for the Baton Rouge Police Department said: "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. He knew we were actively looking for him and 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."

Following his arrest, Murphy reportedly admitted to both murders.

He allegedly informed detectives that after Johnson had picked him up on March 5, 2022, they engaged in a heated argument.

When Johnson stopped the car, Murphy shot her twice in the head, while the toddler was fastened into a car seat in the back during the shooting. He then reportedly discarded Johnson's body in a roadside drainage ditch.

Murphy then reportedly drove to a 30-foot elevated bridge on Central Thruway. Here, he removed Kaden from the backseat and threw the toddler over the side. Prosecutors stated the fall did not seriously injure the child and they believe he did not die immediately.

It was determined that Kaden sustained no injuries from being thrown over the bridge," Assistant District Attorney Jaclyn Christie Chapman said during the plea hearing. "But instead died as a result of starvation and exposure to elements for a sustained period of time."