A Texas man who killed his then-girlfriend’s adolescent daughter following a rape attempt was given an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole on Thursday.
The 62-year-old Van Henry Brisbon will never go free after killing 16-year-old Lauren Juma. The mother of the adolescent expressed astonishment and rage at the time of the murder in late April 2022.
“He treated Lauren like she was his baby,” Lauren’s mother, Laurie Young, stated. “I don’t understand. He can rot in jail. He had no reason to take my baby’s life.”
The night of the crime, Brisbon started acting suspiciously, which worried little Lauren so severely that she FaceTimed her mother and sister from their house in Humble, which is near Houston. The teen’s older sister was called to the house by the mother, who was out of town on business. According to Keryca Harmon, Lauren’s sister, in 2022, “all she wanted was to get away.”
“She just said he was being really weird and wanted me to pick her up.”
When she arrived, it was discovered that Brisbon was holding Lauren against her will with a rifle. According to a new press release from the prosecution, when Harris County deputies arrived, they heard gunshots originating from within the house.
Brisbon went out again.
He reportedly instructed the arresting deputies, “Do what you have to do.” The 9mm handgun had killed Lauren, who was inside. Evidence that Brisbon attempted to rape her was discovered by investigators.
Following a nine-day trial, jurors found the defendant guilty of capital murder.
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Assistant District Attorney Katie Warren, who co-prosecuted the case alongside ADA Gina Gilmore stated that, “Our jury heard bodycam recordings of the victim’s screams, cries for help and then gunshots, which were not easy to listen to. “We are thankful to the jurors for their service and their verdict because they were able to do what needed to be done: They gave this victim and her family justice.”
“This defendant was a predator with a gun, and his choice to hurt a young girl and take her life was senseless and horrific,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg stated. “He not only took a promising young woman’s life, his actions have destroyed a family.”
