Grandfather of accused double murderer struggles with grief and guilt

BATON ROUGE — The grandfather of a man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her 2-year-old son is speaking out for the first time.

Alfred Murphy, the grandfather of Brynnen Murphy, who is accused of murdering Kaylen Johnson and her son Kaden Johnson in 2022, gave his opinion on the situation.

Brynnen recently appeared before an East Baton Rouge Parish judge and was found competent to stand trial, despite initially claiming insanity.

“I’m excited and happy that we’re moving forward. I’m ready to get this over with,” Kaylen’s mother April Johnson Fleming said UWK.

She spoke with UWK and is featured on Louisiana Unfiltered, An Unfiltered with Kiran Podcast.

“If I could have prevented this…”

Alfred Murphy shared his regrets with UWKand wished the situation had never escalated to this point.

Brynnen Murphy is facing two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree abortion. Kaylen Johnson, who was pregnant, and her 2-year-old son Kaden were last seen on March 5, 2022, and were reported missing by BRPD on March 12.

On March 14th, Kaylen’s body was found on Burbank Dr., and Kaden’s body was found thrown over the Central Thruway Bridge. Brynnen, who was Kaylen’s boyfriend and a maintenance worker at her home, turned himself in and admitted to shooting Kaylen, disposing of her body, and throwing Kaden off the bridge.

Alfred Murphy wonders if knowing more about the situation could have helped prevent the crimes. “If I could have done something, anything in my power to prevent this, I would have done it,” he told UWK.

He struggles with the question of why his grandson would commit these acts. Brynnen, described as a “gentle young man” as a child, lived with his mother and had no trouble. Alfred never saw anger issues in Brynnen and could not have foreseen such actions.

“We didn’t know this and that’s what bothers me most: if we had known he was in trouble, we would have intervened,” said Alfred.

Alfred says he wishes he had known Kaylen, Kaden and the unborn baby. He says he would have loved them and supported them when they needed it.

The murders, arrests and trials have deeply affected the entire family. Alfred said he will carry the painful knowledge of the murders with him for the rest of his life. He often passes the Central Thruway, where Kaden died, and prays for forgiveness for Brynnen, keeping Kaylen and Kaden in his heart.

As part of his job, Alfred often passes the Central Thruway, where Kaden died, and he said he prays and asks for forgiveness for Brynnen every time he passes. He said he will always carry Kaylen and Kaden in his heart.

Despite the family’s pain, Alfred stressed that they do not want Brynnen to go unpunished. During his visits to Brynnen in prison, Alfred believes his grandson is remorseful. “I think it weighs heavily on him,” he said.

Brynnen awaits trial by jury, which is scheduled for March 17, 2025 at 9 a.m.

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