Tennessee – A Tennessee man is on triaI on two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated chiId abuse or negIect, and aggravated kidnapping in the deaths of 27-year-old DanieIIe and their chiId, Kenedy. Tennessee prosecutors opened the case by telling jurors they will show how the defendant, 28-year-old B. IsabeIIe, planned the kiIIings and Iured the victim to meet him in Feb. 2022, so both victims would be ‘out of the way’ so he could be with his new girIfriend.
According to the Tennessee authorities, the investigation process began when an officer found the woman’s abandoned car with a broken window and then located her body nearby with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Police treated the scene as a homicide and launched an intensive search for the infant, who was two days old at the time. Those initial actions and findings are part of court records and public reports disclosed by prosecutors.
According to Tennessee prosecutors, detectives later interviewed the defendant and obtained statements and recorded interviews that are central to the state’s case. Prosecutors played video and audio of his interrogation during opening proceedings, and they told the jury that he admitted to killing the woman before tossing the newborn baby into the river. The baby’s body has not been recovered despite a multi-agency search.
At trial the state presented physical and testimonial evidence outlining the sequence of events investigators pieced together. Police affidavits referenced the broken vehicle window and the location where the victim’s body was found. Law enforcement described the subsequent search efforts for Kennedy that involved multiple agencies and river searches, which have so far failed to locate the baby. Prosecutors told jurors they will rely on his recorded statements, witness testimony and investigative findings to prove premeditation and the charges filed against him.
During opening statements, prosecutors said the defendant was texting a new girlfriend while his baby’s mom was in the hospital giving birth. The woman, who also worked at the same company, had told him she did not want to deal with a child or another baby mama. Prosecutors argued the defendant wanted to keep the relationship and saw his child’s mother and the baby as obstacles.
He lured then lured the victim to a dark, isolated road under the pretense of giving her baby clothes, then shot her in the head and dragged her body into a ditch. He took newborn baby from the car, drove and threw the infant into the river, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors told jurors that after killing his child’s mother and throwing the newborn into the river, he reportedly went to a local store to buy gifts for his new girIfriend. They argued this showed how quickly he turned his focus back to maintaining that relationship, even after committing the crimes.
Witnesses called by the prosecution included family members and officers who responded to the initial reports. The victim’s mother testified about the short time she had with her grandchild and the family’s grief. Investigators and medical witnesses described the condition of the crime scene and the evidence gathered there.