Tulare DA: Man sent to prison for murdering girlfriend, child abuse, animal cruelty
A Tulare man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for killing his girlfriend, along with felony child abuse and animal cruelty charges, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
The convicted, John Brown, 34, pleaded to all charges filed against him on Dec. 23, the DA’s office said.
Those charges: One count of second-degree murder with the special allegation that a deadly weapon was used, two counts of felony child abuse, and two counts of felony animal cruelty.
Brown killed Brandy Dolores Parra.
Tulare County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Parra strangled to death on the morning of June 15, 2016 after Brown called 911. Deputies found Parra with a rope around her neck and the couple’s children in a bedroom.
“During the search, deputies matched the rope wrapped around the victim’s neck with a clothesline on the property,” the district attorney’s office wrote in a news release. “They found no signs of forced entry, despite Brown’s claims that someone killed the victim while he was asleep. Brown was taken into custody that day.”
An autopsy the next day revealed Parra died from ligature strangulation. The rope had been wrapped tightly around her neck four times.
“Through investigation, detectives also learned of the deaths about a week prior of two pug puppies owned by Brown that were tied up without food or water in the summer elements, and buried in the yard,” the news release continued.
Under California law, Brown will not be eligible for parole for 24 years.
