BATON ROUGE - A man accused of killing his girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child at the time, and the woman's 2-year-old son pleaded guilty Tuesday ahead of his April trial date.

In 2022, Brynnen Murphy was arrested for two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of 24-year-old Kaylen Johnson and her son Kaden.

WBRZ previously reported that then-20-year-old Murphy confessed to shooting and killing Kaylen in the parking lot of his apartment complex on North Harrells Ferry Road. Murphy then allegedly ditched the gun in the same wooded area where Kaylen was found. Kaylen's son Kaden was reportedly in the car when his mother was shot and when Murphy dumped her body. After disposing of his girlfriend's body and the murder weapon, Murphy drove to the Central Thruway where he threw Kaden—who was still alive—over the bridge. Sources told WBRZ Murphy heard Kaden crying as he drove away. A coroner said Kaden likely died of hypothermia.

After his arrest, Murphy was charged with an additional count of feticide and moved to the West Baton Rouge Parish jail for his safety.

On Tuesday, Murphy pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of two counts of manslaughter and one count of first-degree feticide. District Attorney Hillar Moore said the plea deal was only done with the grace of family members of Kaylen and Kaden, saving the family from enduring a horrific trial.

The DA says that the charges could bring a sentence of up to 95 years in prison for hard labor, but will be decided by Judge Louise Hines on June 10.