Brandi Worley's Motive For Murdering Her Own Children
The tragic deaths of children often affect a whole community, as was the case of Charlee and Tyler Worley (via WHTR). These young kids were murdered by their own mother in the middle of the night while her husband slept downstairs. Hundreds of residents of the small Indiana town of Darlington packed into a local church in November of 2016 to pay their final respects to the Worley kids.
The Worley family was comprised of 30-year-old Brandi, her husband Jason, and their two children. Per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on November 15, 2016, Jason told Brandi that he wanted a divorce. The very next day, on November 16, 2016, Brandi told Jason that she needed to go out to a shop and pick up some craft supplies for one of Tyler's school projects. But she didn't buy pipe cleaners as she told Jason — instead, she purchased a combat knife, per Trib Star.
A tragic knife attack
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Brandi then stashed the knife in her son's bedroom. Unaware of Brandi's intent, Jason spent some time playing with the kids before bedtime.
According to the Journal Review, often in filicide cases, there is a history of abusive parenting in the household. That didn't seem to be the case for 7-year-old Tyler and 3-year-old Charlee. But that changed on November 17, when Brandi woke Tyler to ask if he wanted to have a sleepover in his sister's room. Once they were in Charlee's room, Brandi stabbed Tyler numerous times.
Charlee even woke up during the attack at one point, but when Brandi said she wasn't doing anything, her daughter went back to sleep. Then Brandi killed Charlee with the knife, too.
Brandi next started to inflict harm on herself, later saying "I just wanted to die with them," according to the Journal & Courier. She didn't complete the act. Autopsy reports later confirmed that both children had died from knife wounds to the neck.
'Now you can't take the kids from me'
The Journal & Courier reported that in the early hours of the morning on November 17, Brandi called her mother after she attacked Tyler and Charlee, and her mother rushed over to the house. It was around 4:30 a.m. when Jason awoke to his mother-in-law's screams of terror as she found her grandchildren's bodies.
Jason was sleeping in the basement and raced upstairs when he heard screaming. The Journal & Courier reports that Brandi then turned to Jason and said, "Now you can't take the kids from me." She has reportedly never expressed regret for killing her children.
Brandi then called 911, telling the operator that she had stabbed herself and killed her two young kids (per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Slurring her words, she explained to the operator that she had also taken a large amount of Benadryl as she told the 911 dispatcher calmly and without emotion what she had done.
A life sentence
After confessing, Brandi was taken to the hospital to treat her self-inflicted knife wounds. She spoke with Montgomery County Sheriff Mark Casteel, who said that Brandi did not show remorse for killing her children. In 2018 The Journal & Courier reported Brandi had still never expressed regret for her actions in November 2016. Even Brandi's attorney said he was unable to give a reason why she suddenly snapped and ended their lives.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Harry Siamas said at Brandi's sentencing, "Sometimes there is no explanation. Darkness is in this world. ... And it penetrates minds and our hearts."
Per the Journal Review, Brandi was sentenced to 120 years in prison on the two murder charges — 55 years for Tyler's murder, and 65 years for Charlee's. The Journal & Courier reports that she has depression, and has shown no emotions or reactions to the double murder because of it. Although she and Jason's divorce was made official in March 2017, they haven't talked since the tragic night Brandi killed the children.
Per the Indiana Department of Correction, Brandi is now staying at the Indiana Women's Prison. Her lengthy sentence will not end until the year 2106 at the earliest.