A Texas man, aged 22, is facing a life sentence for the murder of a 4-year-old boy, who was kidnapped from his home while sleeping beside his twin brother. Darriynn Brown confessed to the fatal stabbing of the child, Cash Ganon, in 2021, just as jury selection was about to commence for his trial, according to court documents.
Brown, initially charged with capital murder, struck a deal with the prosecution, pleading guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree murder for the boy’s death. Upon his formal plea, Dallas County District Judge Stephanie N. Huff immediately sentenced Brown to life in a state correctional facility, with the possibility of parole.
As previously reported, Cash’s body was discovered in the 7500 block of Saddleridge Drive, approximately half a mile from his family’s Dallas home on May 15, 2021. Surveillance footage obtained by authorities showed Brown abducting Cash from his crib, where he was sleeping next to his twin brother.
Brown was seen carrying Cash for about eight blocks before repeatedly stabbing the boy and leaving his body in the middle of the street. A jogger who discovered the boy’s body initially mistook it for an animal before realizing it was a child. She described the traumatic experience to local CBS affiliate KTVT, recounting the horrifying sight of the child’s body covered in ants and blood.
Additional footage reportedly showed Brown returning to the boys’ room after Cash’s death, hovering over the crib, seemingly contemplating kidnapping Cash’s twin brother, but ultimately deciding against it. Brown was apprehended hours after the discovery of the boy’s body. Authorities stated that three items found in Brown’s room tested positive for the victim’s blood – a pair of black sunglasses, a black Adidas hoodie similar to the one worn by the kidnapper in the surveillance footage, and a pair of black tennis shoes.
Brown was also implicated in an attempted kidnapping of another child in February 2021, but the alleged victim declined to press charges at the time. According to an affidavit, Brown entered a man’s home and began rummaging through rooms and closets. The homeowner, a grandfather, claimed that Brown attempted to kidnap his 2-year-old granddaughter, but he was able to rescue her. The grandfather initially declined to press charges after Brown apologized, but decided to do so after Cash Ganon’s murder.