Cash Gernon's blood found on Darriynn Brown's hoodie, shoes and sunglasses
Following up on the announcement that Darriynn Ronnell Brown, 18, will be charged with capital murder in addition to Cash Gernon's kidnapping, the Dallas police have released new details. They revealed the kind of evidence that led them to believe that Brown had killed the four-year-old.
The charges were upgraded four weeks after Gernon was found murdered in the middle of a Dallas street, with multiple stab wounds on his body. After CCTV footage showed a figure which looked like Brown abducting the child, he was charged with kidnapping and theft in connection to the death of Gernon, with police awaiting complete forensic results to determine who killed the Texas toddler. After evidence submitted to the lab was returned, Brown was charged with Gernon's murder on June 9.
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Evidence against Darriynn Brown
Investigators searched Brown's room after Gernon was found dead, according to an arrest warrant. That was when they found an Adidas zipper hoodie, a pair of shoes, and a pair of dark-colored sunglasses belonging to the suspect, which were then sent to the lab for testing, according to WFAA.
According to police documents, all three items tested positive for Gernon's blood. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office had previously confirmed that Gernon died from multiple stab wounds and ruled his death a homicide.
In a statement announcing the additional charges, the Dallas police said, "Evidence submitted to the lab has been returned linking Darriynn Brown to Cash Gernon at the time of his death. Therefore he is also being charged with Capital Murder." The short statement was posted on the Dallas Police department's website on Wednesday, June 9.
Capital punishment in Texas carries an automatic life sentence and can even have a death penalty. Prosecutors will determine the desired punishment before the trial begins.
Cash Gernon's father arrested
Incidentally, Cash Gernon's father, Trevor, has been also placed under arrest, but for charges that aren’t related to the murder of his son, KHOU 11 reported. He was arrested on unrelated outstanding warrants in Harris County, records show. He had failed to show up for a March court date on charges including fraud and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, according to court records.
Cash and his twin brother, Carter, who was unharmed in the incident, were in the care of Trevor Gernon’s ex-girlfriend at the time of the murder. He had left them with her back in March, according to the ex-girlfriend’s son.
Last month, Monica Sherrod, Trevor's ex-girlfriend revealed that Trevor moved into her house in February. Trevor is a construction worker. The former couple had known each other for two years and met in their home city of Houston. The twins stayed temporarily with her before moving in full-time on Valentine's Day, February 14, the same day that Trevor moved in with Sherrod.
In March, Trevor, who had custody of the kids, suddenly fled after getting into trouble with the law and had not been heard from after that. He surfaced again after news broke of Cash Gernon's death. Sherrod said that she had been raising them on her own. Apart from the twins, she also had two boys and a daughter of her own.