Man charged with brutal stabbing murder of 4-year-old Cash Gernon found incompetent to stand trial



The man charged with the brutal stabbing murder of 4-year-old Cash Gernon was found incompetent to stand trial after he was assessed by both the prosecution and his defense team.

Dallas Police claimed that Darriynn Brown kidnapped the boy from his bed and stabbed him to death in May 2021. The boy's body was found in the middle of a street eight blocks away by a jogger the morning after he died.

Police released home surveillance video showing someone looking like Brown grabbing Cash and walking off with him. The video showed that the same man later returned for Cash's twin brother Carter, but he was scared off.

Brown's defense team claimed that he was in a trance-like state during the murder and that he suffered from hallucinations.

A medical expert hired by the prosecution also came to the conclusion that Brown was mentally incapable of standing trial. On Friday, Brown was officially declared incompetent to stand trial.

"He can finally get the help that he needs so he can assist us in his representation," said Brown's defense attorney Heath Harris.

Brown will be likely be transferred to Vernon Psychiatric Hospital according to Harris.

"Maybe someday we can get to the facts of this case, which we believe are going to show he has a mental defect that potentially led to this tragedy," Harris added. "He may be entitled to an insanity defense."

The boy and his brother were in the care of a woman who was reportedly dating their father at the time of his murder. Their father had been on a work trip for months when his boy was murdered. The twins' mother accused the father of running off with the boys and said she had been searching for them for months.

Brown may never be found competent to stand trial for the murder of Cash. Even if he is found competent to stand trial in the future, his defense may argue that he was insane at the time of the murder. If that's the case, the prosecution will have to prove that Brown knew what he was doing was wrong at the time that he did it.

"We ask people to be patient in forming their opinions or judgments about this," defense attorney Valerie Baston said.

Here's a local news video about the ruling:

Man accused of murdering Dallas 4-year-old Cash Gernon found incompetent to stand trialwww.youtube.com

Suspect in brutal murder of 4-year-old in Dallas had allegedly tried to kidnap a 2-year-old, but homeowner refused to press charges



The suspect in the murder of a 4-year-old boy in Dallas, Texas, had been previously accused of assaulting another homeowner and trying to kidnap his 2-year-old girl, but the man had refused to press charges at the time.

The disconcerting accusations were outlined in a second arrest affidavit filed against Darriynn Brown, the 18-year-old arrested and charged in the heinous murder of Cash Gernon, who was found in a pool of his own blood by a jogger.

Brown is accused of entering a home in February and rifling through the closets before a homeowner grabbed a kitchen knife and forced him to leave. He then allegedly damaged the door in order to gain entry again, punched the homeowner in the forehead, and walked into the living room where the homeowner's 2-year-old granddaughter was sleeping.

The affidavit says that Brown picked up the girl and tried to make his way out the back door when the homeowner confronted him and wrenched his granddaughter away. Brown allegedly punched him in the face and fled the scene.

Astoundingly, the homeowner decided not to press charges at the time of the incident.

Investigators talked to the homeowner three days after Cash Gernon was found dead, and he decided to press charges at that time.

In addition to the charges of kidnapping and theft in the murder of Cash Gernon, Brown now faces two new charges of injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual, and burglary. Police say more charges are pending the results of forensic analysis.

A figure fitting Brown's description was captured on surveillance video kidnapping the child from his crib the night before he was found dead. Brown's mother told the media that her son is completely innocent and that he was framed for the crime.

The boy was in the care of his father's girlfriend at the time of his abduction and murder. The mother of Cash said that she didn't know where her children were and that the father had left the two boys with his girlfriend without notifying her about their whereabouts.

Here's a local news report about the new charges:

Accused Child Killer Darriynn Brown Faces New Charges In Cash Gernon Casewww.youtube.com

4-year-old boy found violently murdered in Dallas. Police have arrested an 18-year-old suspect.



A 4-year-old boy was found violently murdered and police have arrested an 18-year-old suspect who might have been caught on video kidnapping the victim.

The disturbing incident unfolded Saturday morning in Dallas when a jogger found the boy's body in the middle of a street.

Dallas police said the matter is being investigated as a murder.

Investigators initially said they believed a "single individual" killed the boy with an "edged weapon" based on the condition of the body.

The woman who said she found the body of the child spoke to KTVT-TV about what happened. She said that she went out to jog that morning because it was such a beautiful day outside. She said she was startled to see the boy lying in the street and called 911.

"That image that I saw, I just can't erase it. To see a child covered in blood in the middle of the street, it's truly traumatizing," said the woman, who added that the boy wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes.

By Saturday evening, police confirmed that they had a suspect in custody, and later identified him as 18-year-old Darriynn Brown.

Brown was initially charged with kidnapping and theft, but officials said they expect to add more charges pending their investigation and forensic analysis.

A woman, who identified herself as the boy's mother to WFAA, told the station that his name was Cash Gernon and claimed that he had been sleeping when he was kidnapped. Police said that the woman was the boy's guardian.

This 4y/o boy was found murdered on Saturday am on Saddlerige drive in the Mountain Creek Area in Dallas.Mom iden… https://t.co/rv9n3BybRr

— Malini Basu (@MaliniBasu_) 1621212902.0

She said that the boy had a twin brother who is in the custody of the state. She also said that she has no idea why Brown allegedly killed the boy, and claimed that they had no prior relationship.

Residents told WFAA that they would see Brown walking through the neighborhood. Court records showed that he lived about a half-mile away from the crime scene with his parents.

"Hard to believe. I don't think he was in his right mind," said one resident named Jose Ramirez.

The boy's guardian claimed that Brown was caught on surveillance video breaking into the back of the home.

Brown was held on a bond of $750,000 for each charge. His mother told KTVT that Brown was innocent and had been framed by the real killer of the child, whom she suspected to be part of his family.

Here's more about the incident:

Investigation Underway After 4-Year-Old Boy Found Murdered In Street In Dallaswww.youtube.com