Kyrell Morgan and Brielle Olivia Swinton (Allegheny County Police and WPXI screenshot)
A 21-year-old man in Pennsylvania will likely be facing a hefty prison sentence after being convicted of killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter while babysitting, squeezing the toddler with so much force it broke her ribs and lacerated her internal organs.
A jury in Allegheny County deliberated for just over one day before returning on Wednesday to find Kyrell Morgan guilty on one count each of third-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child in the 2021 slaying of young Brielle Olivia Swinton, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The case began when officers with the Stowe County Police Department on Dec. 30 responded to a 911 call about a toddler who was not breathing at a residence located on Woodward Avenue. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders quickly located Brielle, who was unconscious and not breathing. Officers and personnel with Emergency Medical Services attempted to resuscitate the child before rushing her to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, the child succumbed to her injuries shortly after arriving at the pediatric facility and she was pronounced dead.
A subsequent autopsy performed by the county medical examiner determined that Brielle’s death was a homicide and said that she had large bruising across her abdomen and a lacerated liver likely caused by someone squeezing her from behind and ultimately resulted in her death, according to a report from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The medical examiner reportedly noted that Brielle’s death would have been slow and painful, and she was likely alive for 12 to 16 hours after suffering her fatal injury.
Investigators quickly honed in on Morgan as a person of interest in the child’s death after it was revealed that he was babysitting and was the lone adult watching Brielle while her mother was at work. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for the then-19-year-old less than 24 hours after Brielle’s death. Authorities located Morgan the following day, reportedly finding him at Brielle’s grandfather’s house where he was hiding inside of a crawl space.
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During the trial, prosecutors showed jurors that immediately after Brielle’s death, Morgan did an internet search for the phrase, “what all comes out in an autopsy” and performed multiple online searches for news articles relating to her death, Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WPXI reported.
Per WPXI, prosecutors also presented text messages Morgan sent to Brielle’s mother on the day she suffered the fatal injury in which he wrote, “Brielle said I gave her boo boos, and I squished her.” He reportedly went on to claim that he had no idea why the little girl would make such a claim, saying he did not want her saying it to other people.
Morgan took the stand in his own defense during the trial and maintained his innocence, telling jurors that he “never hurt Brielle Swinton in any way, shape, or form,” WPXI reported.
During the investigation, Brielle’s mother, reportedly testified under oath that in the six months they were together she had never seen Morgan get violent with any of her children, according to CBS News.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Morgan’s defense attorney Blaine Jones said his client believed he should have been found not guilty on all counts. As he was being led out of the court house, Morgan reportedly said, “This is crazy.”
Morgan is scheduled to appear in court again for his sentencing hearing on Oct. 23.
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