John Jefferson
Inset: Robert Brians appearing in court. Background: Brians’ car after he intentionally drove it off a cliff with his twin daughters inside (KSDN).
A California father learned his fate after admitting to abducting his twin 2-year-old girls and intentionally driving his pickup truck off a cliff and into the water below after an argument with the girls’ mother in a terrifying case in which all three miraculously survived despite the truck landing upside down in the water.
Robert Brians, 51, was sentenced on Friday to 31 years in a state correctional facility. He was also ordered to stay away from his daughters for 10 years and fined $20,000. He pleaded guilty last month to two counts each of attempted murder and kidnapping, as well as one count each of child abuse, burglary, and domestic violence.
The girls’ mother, Jenna Brians reacted to the sentence, local NBC affiliate KNSD reported.
“Knowing that this day was coming has been haunting us for four years,” she said. “But it’s nice to finally have closure today, not just for myself, but for my daughters most of all, to know that their dad is taking responsibility for the horrific acts that he made that day, the choices that he’s made.”
San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Francesca Balerio, who prosecuted this case, took the defendant to task.
“Innocent children — and in this case even worse, your own children — to get back at your spouse is the epitome of evil, and that is what happened in this case,” she said, local ABC affiliate KGTV reported.
Robert Brians apologized, saying, “I love my babies, and I’m sorry,” KNSD reported.
As Law&Crime previously reported, officers with the San Diego Police Department began searching for Brians at about 4:30 a.m. on June 13, 2020, after his ex-wife called 911, reporting he had gone to his parents’ home and taken their twin toddlers without permission.
After taking his daughters, Brians sent his ex-wife several ominous text messages threatening to kill the girls.
One message stated, “The girls are going to Heaven and I’m going to Hell to wait for you,” City News reported.
San Diego NBC affiliate KNSD reported that Brians’ ex-wife testified against him in court, stating that Brians also sent her several messages that morning in which he threatened to drive himself and their children off a cliff.
Brians was then caught on a traffic camera at 5:09 a.m. driving up to 70 mph before speeding off the Sunset Cliffs in the Point Loma community of San Diego.
At the time of the incident, Brians was reportedly out of jail on bond for a separate felony charge.
Detective Aletha Lennier of the San Diego Police Department also provided testimony stating that a few hours earlier, Brians had posted on Facebook: “Tonight, I’m sending my babies to Heaven.”
Police were reportedly able to track Brians to the Sunset Cliffs area via his cellular phone when patrol officers spotted his vehicle just before he went over the edge of the cliff.
A veteran canine officer who responded to the scene used a 100-foot dog leash to repel down the side of the cliff and into the water, where he found Brians and the girls. KNSD reported that the officer said that Brians was in the water yelling about his ex-wife as he helped get all three back to shore safely.
The canine officer, Jonathan Wiese, received a Carnegie Medal for his heroism.
Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Read the full article here