Left inset: Joshua Brown (Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office). Right inset: Shawntae Brown (GoFundMe). Background: The Oklahoma home where Joshua Brown brutally beat his wife, Shawntae Brown, in front of their three children, ages 7, 14, and 15 (KOCO).
An Oklahoma father has admitted to beating his wife to death in front of their three kids with a belt, a shoe, a flagpole, and a handgun over the course of two days. He then made the children "clean up the blood and mess" and told them "not to talk to anyone" about it, according to investigators.
"The victim's body was covered in bruises, contusions, and lacerations consistent with a severe beating," a probable cause affidavit said about Shawntae Brown's 2020 murder at the hands of her husband, Joshua Brown, who was sentenced this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole after accepting a plea deal, local Fox affiliate KOKH reports.
"It was very obvious that a violent crime had happened in that house," Mark Myers, public information officer for the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department, told NBC affiliate KFOR after Shawntae Brown's body was found in the couple's Spencer home.
"It was just a very gruesome scene," Myers said. "What a horrible, tragic event for these kids to have to go through."
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The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office said in a press release at the time of the slaying that OCSO dispatchers received a 911 call from the family's home just before 2 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2020.
"When emergency personnel responded they found the body of 34-year-old Shawntae Lynn Brown inside the house," the release said. "Joshua Christian Brown, who is married to the victim, and their three children were also inside the home."
Joshua Brown, 39, told authorities that he "went too far" while fighting with Shawntae Brown and began punching and strangling her in front of their kids, who were 7, 14, and 15 at the time. He was accused of pummeling her over a span of two days before leaving her bruised and beaten body inside a bathroom, KOKH reports.
The couple's 14-year-old son told investigators that he watched Joshua Brown beat his mother with a handgun, a shoe, a belt, and a flagpole.
"The 14-year-old also made statements that Joshua Brown made him and his siblings clean up the blood and mess and told them not to talk to anyone about the incident," the affidavit said, according to The Oklahoman.
A "large amount of blood" was reportedly found throughout the couple's home, along with holes in the drywall that appeared to be caused by punches or kicks.
"A semi-automatic handgun was recovered and it appeared that Joshua Brown had beaten the victim with it so severely that the fiber optic front sight had shattered and was caked with blood and hair," the affidavit added.
Brown was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center for murder and child abuse, where he was held without bond until accepting his plea agreement in exchange for four life sentences.
Prosecutors told KOKH that the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office spoke with Joshua Brown's children before offering a deal, and his daughter said she did not think he should be free but also did not want him to be executed.
"I know a lot of my family wanted the death penalty," the daughter, Aliesha Brown, told local CBS affiliate KWTV. "It's been a long journey, and I've grown a lot since then," Brown said. "Obviously, I was a kid, now I'm a young adult, but it's not going to get any easier. Knowing justice has been served and due process has been done, I can finally get some peace."
Joshua Brown will not be allowed to appeal his life sentences as part of his plea agreement, KWTV reports. His lawyer did not respond to Law&Crime's requests for comment on Thursday.
