Darryl Tyson Jr. entered an Alford plea shortly before trial after prosecutors said autopsy evidence contradicted his claim that BreAnna Johnson posed a threat when he opened fire
NEED TO KNOW
- Darryl Tyson Jr. entered an Alford plea to three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of BreAnna Johnson and her unborn twins
- Prosecutors said autopsy evidence contradicted Tyson’s claim that he acted in self-defense
- Tyson was sentenced to 30 years in prison and must serve more than 25 years before becoming eligible for parole
A Missouri man who claimed he shot his pregnant girlfriend in self-defense has entered an Alford plea after prosecutors said an autopsy showed she had been shot five times in the back.
Darryl Tyson Jr., 41, entered the plea on June 2 to three counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree domestic assault in connection with the October 2024 death of BreAnna Johnson, 28, and her unborn twins, according to FOX 2 St. Louis and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to likely secure a conviction.
Credit: Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of St. Charles County, Missouri
Johnson was four months pregnant with the twins when she was killed.
Tyson was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder convictions and seven years for the assault conviction, with the sentences to run concurrently, First Alert 4 reported. Under Missouri law, he must serve 85% of his sentence — more than 25 years — before becoming eligible for parole, according to FOX 2 and KSDK.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial this week.
As PEOPLE previously reported, Johnson was found fatally shot inside her Wentzville home on Oct. 31, 2024. Her two young sons, who were then 6 months old and 17 months old, were home at the time but were not physically injured.
Credit: National Gun Violence Memorial
Tyson was arrested the same day on a domestic violence charge stemming from an incident hours before the shooting. According to court documents cited by First Alert 4, he was accused of throwing a phone that struck Johnson in the head.
Prosecutors initially charged Tyson with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Johnson and her unborn twins. Tyson ultimately entered pleas to three counts of second-degree murder — one for Johnson and one for each unborn child.
According to KSDK, Tyson initially told investigators that Johnson was facing him with a weapon when he opened fire, claiming he acted in self-defense.
But St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph McCulloch said the physical evidence contradicted that account.
“Those bullets were traveling upwards, which tells us that she was falling down or on the ground at the time that she received some of those shots,” McCulloch told the outlet. “Again, that takes away her being in a threatening position for his self-defense claim.”
Credit: National Gun Violence Memorial
Tyson’s attorney, Raphael Morris, said autopsy findings changed the course of the case.
“When it happened, he initially told the police that he believed that she was facing him,” Morris told the outlet. “Obviously, once we got the discovery and seen the photographs from the autopsy, that was not accurate. After much consideration, he decided entering a plea was in his best interest.”
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Johnson’s mother, Janette Perry, attended the sentencing hearing and said she wanted to witness the proceedings firsthand.
“I wanted her to see. I wanted her to hear him say guilty,” Perry told KSDK. “It wasn’t a jury that said he was guilty. He said he was guilty. That was justice for Bre’Anna, and I wanted her to hear that.”
The outlet reported that Johnson’s family is now advocating for “BreAnna’s Law,” a proposed measure that would create a public registry for repeat domestic violence offenders.
Johnson is survived by her two sons, who are now living with her father, according to the outlet.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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