LANSING, Mich. — A man who pleaded guilty to murdering two women with a hammer in 2019 offered an apology in court before his sentencing.
Kiernan Brown was sentenced to 70 to 100 years in prison for the deaths of Kaylee Ann Brock, 26, and Julie Ann Mooney, 32, in May 2019, The Associated Press reported. Brown pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder, MLive.com reported.
The two women were found in different locations, beaten to death with a hammer, WILX reported.
Police had responded to a 911 call on May 10, 2019 from a woman who had a protection order against Brown, saying he was attempting to get into her home, Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth told MLive.com. Brown had sent the woman a concerning text message prior to his arrest.
Brown was on parole at the time of the murders after serving time in prison for assault by strangulation and domestic violence, and was wanted on a parole violation from a separate alleged domestic assault days prior, the Lansing State Journal reported.
When Ingham County sheriff’s deputies arrested Brown during a traffic stop, he allegedly showed the deputies cellphone photos of the victims’ bodies, MLive.com reported.
Investigators said Brown made a plan to hurt four women after he was unable to get into his ex-girlfriend’s house, successfully killing two before his arrest, the Lansing State Journal reported.
“There’s no doubt he was on a killing spree,” Ingram County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth said at the time, the newspaper reported.
Brown’s attorney, Ronald Berry, told the Lansing State Journal that his client suffers from multiple mental disorders, including schizoaffective disorder, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina handed down the 70-100 year sentence, two years after she rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors that would have set Brown’s minimum sentence at 30-50 years, the Lansing State Journal reported.
During the emotional sentencing hearing, the victims’ families spoke about the women who were killed, WSYM reported. Brock’s mother, Michelle Williams, described her daughter, who was an adult with special needs, saying “she was able to find part-time employment and move into her own home. She was becoming a productive member of society.”
Mooney’s mother, Denise Ward, spoke directly to Brown, saying: “May you feel the pain for what you have done and what will be done to you.”
During the sentencing hearing, Brown offered an apology to the families, saying, “I wish I could go back. I wish I could change it but I can’t. I’m sorry I did this to Julie and Kaylee and to their families, that I put them through this,” the Lansing State Journal reported.
“Sorry doesn’t bring them back … you embody hate,” Aquilina said in court, according to the Lansing State Journal. “And then you say you had some mental issues. I see that in the file here. But you also didn’t reach out for help ... you didn’t tell anyone you were having this suicidal, murderous ideation and you needed help. You took matters into your own hands. You bought saws, hammers and other equipment so you could take out what you thirsted for. To be so powerful that you took two women who trusted you, and you lured them, lied to them, and brutally murdered them.”
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