Arrogant Killer Thinks She's A Psychology Major

[00:00:00]Have you studied psychology ever?

[00:00:02]>> Probably not as much as you have.

[00:00:04]>> You.

[00:00:04]>> Okay. If you wanted to stop, how come you didn't leave?

[00:00:09]>> Tell her.

[00:00:10]>> This is Brandy Phillips. She stands accused of stabbing her boyfriend, Kenneth Stewart, straight through the heart inside a dark Texas homeless encampment. As Kenneth ran through the camp bleeding to death, Bry's reaction was chillingly calm. Without a shred of remorse, she immediately began pushing a cold calculation, framing the brutal murder as nothing more than self-defense.

[00:00:36]>> When you have a man that be coming at you that just hit you, >> you can't have the sort of mindset that you're saying, "I'm not going to stab him somewhere that's going to kill him, but then say it was instinctive."

[00:00:47]>> You can have the mindset where you're not going to shoot somebody where it's going to kill him. You can shoot them incapable.

[00:00:53]Inside the interrogation room, Brandy refuses to play the grieving victim.

[00:00:58]Instead, her arrogant mockery sparks a masterclass in psychological warfare.

[00:01:04]One that will completely backfire, turning her own words into her ultimate downfall.

[00:01:10]>> Celebrating, but I'm not going to say that to him.

[00:01:17]In October 2017, Fort Worth police were called to a homeless encampment late at night after reports of a man screaming for help. When officers arrived, they found Kenneth Stewart, 35, lying on the ground with a stab wound to his chest.

[00:01:34]He was pronounced dead at the scene.

[00:01:38]Camp residents told police that Kenneth had been arguing with his girlfriend, Randy Phillips, earlier that night. The argument escalated and witnesses later saw Kenneth running through the camp bleeding and crying out for help.

[00:01:52]Shortly after, Brandy was seen walking through the area, telling others that Kenneth was fine and just asleep, causing some people to hesitate before intervening. Police located Brandy just a short distance from the camp. She had blood on her hands and clothing and was taken to the police station for questioning. At that time, she was not under arrest. What began as a chaotic disturbance at a homeless camp quickly became a homicide investigation with Bry's version of events at the center of the case.

[00:02:27]>> All right, this is what I need. Okay, I need you to wake up for me for about 10 minutes. Give me a good good story about what happened so I know everything that occurred out there. Okay, I'm not going to ask you any more questions. What I'm going to ask you right now is just to tell me what happened out there. Okay.

[00:02:40]And then I'll probably come back with some questions kind of fill in the blanks. But I need you to do me a favor.

[00:02:44]I need you to wake up. I need you to be real alert when you're telling me this because Brandy, this is the part that's the important part, right? I I need to know what happened out there. You're the only person who can tell me what happened out there. Okay. And so I got to get your side of things so I can make sense of what I'm looking at out there.

[00:03:00]Okay. So, can you wake up and kind of sit up and and tell me what occurred?

[00:03:04]>> I don't know detail. I know we were fighting.

[00:03:08]>> Okay. Well, there's got to be a reason why this happened last night. Okay. And if you have a side of why you may have done something, now's the time to tell me.

[00:03:19]>> Tired of being yelled at.

[00:03:21]>> Tired of being yelled at. Okay. I understand that.

[00:03:23]>> Tired of being bullied?

[00:03:25]>> Okay. Well, tell me tell me about that so I can so I can understand and I can put myself in your shoes about what you're talking about. Sounds like he yelled at you a lot. Is that what you're saying? Okay. He bullied you. Okay. Can you do me a favor? Can you can you isolate this to to this particular night? What actually happened last night or this this night a few hours ago?

[00:03:46]>> Oh, I'm sure I did or said something hurt his feelings or something.

[00:03:52]>> Okay.

[00:03:52]>> I don't quite remember what set it up.

[00:03:54]>> Well, let's start this. This might be able to help you. Where were you when everything happened?

[00:04:00]>> Camp.

[00:04:01]>> Is this the camp that you stay in? Okay.

[00:04:03]Is this the camp where you sleep at night?

[00:04:05]>> Mhm.

[00:04:06]>> Okay. Wake up for me. wake up for me cuz we we got to get this done. Do you And we're talking about Kenneth, right?

[00:04:12]>> Yes.

[00:04:13]>> Okay. What's Kenneth's last name?

[00:04:14]>> Steuart.

[00:04:15]>> Okay. How long have you been with Kenneth?

[00:04:17]>> Been off and on since February.

[00:04:20]>> Okay. What's his birthday? Um, did you love him?

[00:04:24]>> I do love him.

[00:04:25]>> You do? Okay.

[00:04:26]>> And so last night you guys were in your camp. Now I saw your camp. I saw that area. Okay. It looks like it's got a bunch of tarps around it. Does that make sense? Right.

[00:04:38]>> Curtains, tarps, whatever. Um, where exactly were you >> when this this argument started? There was by the bed. Okay. Is there actually a mattress over there? Okay. It's not a makeshift mattress. It's a real mattress.

[00:04:52]>> Okay.

[00:04:53]>> Were you guys already going to bed? Were you awake? What was going on?

[00:04:57]>> Uh, going to bed.

[00:04:59]>> You were going to bed. And then you're in bed. You're going to bed. Tell me what occurs. I don't remember what the argument was about.

[00:05:05]>> Okay.

[00:05:05]>> He was yelling me probably on that.

[00:05:08]We've been drinking a little bit.

[00:05:09]>> Okay.

[00:05:10]>> Nobody was drunk. Like not like we didn't drink.

[00:05:15]>> Okay.

[00:05:15]>> Like there was a bottle but I mean that was between 3 or 4 hours between several people. So nobody was like pissed.

[00:05:24]>> So you didn't you didn't feel like you were overly intoxicated or anything like that?

[00:05:27]>> Probably more so than normal. Okay.

[00:05:29]>> But not like >> How many drinks do you think you had? I can't see.

[00:05:32]>> Okay. What kind of alcohol are we talking about?

[00:05:34]>> Rum.

[00:05:35]>> Rum. Okay. So, go ahead. You guys had had been drinking. You guys were going to bed. You You're not sure what the argument was about, but you're arguing.

[00:05:41]Go ahead.

[00:05:42]>> Oh, I'm sure it was something.

[00:05:44]>> Okay. I'm sure it was >> something.

[00:05:46]>> And then what happens?

[00:05:47]>> I hit him one time.

[00:05:49]>> Okay.

[00:05:49]>> I may have slapped him. I don't think I really did. Maybe.

[00:05:53]>> Okay. Then what happened?

[00:05:55]>> I hit me again and I had my >> Okay.

[00:06:01]I know. I like that.

[00:06:06]>> Okay.

[00:06:07]>> One time.

[00:06:08]>> One time.

[00:06:10]>> Yeah.

[00:06:10]>> Okay.

[00:06:11]>> Was it like >> Brandy and Kenneth's relationship was shaped by instability long before that night. They were living on the margins inside a homeless encampment where privacy barely existed and conflict had no place to cool down. Arguments were not moments. They were environments.

[00:06:31]In that environment, tension never truly ended. It simply carried over from one moment to the next. When Brandy begins speaking, she does so with control, not emotion. Her tone is measured, almost detached. What she reveals becomes a chilling pattern throughout the interrogation. Not simply because of what she says, but because of how calmly she says it.

[00:06:56]>> What knife or what hand did you have the knife in?

[00:07:00]I'm going to assume the right hand.

[00:07:01]>> Okay. Well, I don't want you to assume.

[00:07:03]I want you to try to go off of memory what you remember.

[00:07:06]>> You remember having in your right hand?

[00:07:07]>> I never have a knife in my left hand.

[00:07:09]>> You would never have a knife in your left hand. Can you show me how you stabbed him?

[00:07:14]>> Oh, I don't remember.

[00:07:16]>> Okay. Do you remember if it was like this? Do you remember if it was like this? Do you remember if it was like this? Do you remember if it was like this? I want to hear so I can't promise that.

[00:07:29]>> Okay. Let me ask you just in in flat just a flat question. Why did you stab him?

[00:07:41]>> I didn't want him to hurt me again.

[00:07:42]>> Okay. By hurting you again, you're talking about him slapping you twice. Is that correct?

[00:07:47]>> That and it scared me there would be more. Right. So you were scared that he might do it in the future. Is that correct?

[00:07:56]>> Okay.

[00:07:57]>> Or at that point? No.

[00:07:58]>> Yeah. So, but this particular night he slaps you twice. You said one was not as hard as the other. The first one wasn't that hard and the second one was hard enough to kind of ring your bell. Is that correct?

[00:08:09]>> It ring my bell. Are you kidding me? My head spun around and I was like, >> "No, that's what I'm asking. I want you >> almost fell on my >> I want you to describe it." Okay. Um, has he ever hit you before?

[00:08:24]There's been constant yelling, breaking. He has sabotaged my vehicle, spray painted my windshield.

[00:08:38]He has burned all my clothes, tried to set my camp on fire and then just con I mean just threads and [ __ ] scare tactics. My children and I are lucky that we survived my ex-husband. I mean I still suffer from the injury that my ex-husband had done to me.

[00:09:02]>> Can I say aren't words for that kind of >> No, I understand.

[00:09:05]>> Can I Can I say something to you though?

[00:09:06]And I want I want you to tell me if you think this makes sense. Okay. It sounds like Kenneth >> is kind of a bully.

[00:09:12]>> He's kind of a bully. Sounds like he did a lot of mean stuff. It sounds like um he could be sometimes. Is that correct?

[00:09:19]>> Well, yeah. I'm sure you can be, too.

[00:09:20]>> Hell, I can be a lot. I'm just saying I'm trying to figure out how he was acting towards you. But it sounds like he was being a jerk. Sounds like he did a lot of stuff. But for the most part, when I asked you if he's ever assault you before, you talked about these other things. And that's how I know most likely he had never assaulted you before. Doesn't mean you don't have a past that you have to reflect on, right?

[00:09:41]And it sounds like you had a very abusive past. Is that correct?

[00:09:45]Okay. But the reason we're talking to you is because we need to make sure we understand kind of what's going on inside your head. Okay. Because we are trying to make sure that things like this, if they can be avoided, we try to make them so that they're avoidable. Okay? Now, let me ask you this. Do you think it's fair for Kenneth to be stabbed because of you getting beat up in the past from somebody else?

[00:10:16]>> I don't believe that to be the case.

[00:10:18]>> Okay. And I'm not saying I'm I'm not saying what's in your head >> that when he creates himself to be a threat >> he forces himself on somebody as a threat.

[00:10:30]one should expect to be treated as such.

[00:10:36]>> This is when Brandy introduces domestic abuse into the story. She speaks about fear learned over time about patterns of behavior she says she recognized in Kenneth. Abuse becomes the lens through which she wants everything viewed. It is a powerful narrative and a dangerous one. The implication is clear. What happened that night was not an isolated incident, but an unavoidable result of a violent relationship. The detectives listened carefully, aware that this framing can explain fear, but it cannot automatically justify the actions that followed.

[00:11:15]>> I want to ask you again, and I want you to be honest with me, and I already know the answer to this, okay? Cuz believe it or not, we do we do know how to talk to people, okay?

[00:11:25]Prior to tonight, has he ever assaulted you ever?

[00:11:29]>> No.

[00:11:30]>> Not really close like >> Okay. And I'm not saying that's not >> I see the signs. Like I knew that it was going to >> Okay. I understand that. And Brandy, listen, your >> your experience is important.

[00:11:42]>> You can say you understand that, but to live in that moment and to be in that place, >> people never understand that.

[00:11:52]>> Let me rephrase that. I don't mean I understand how you are going through it and stuff like that. I mean I can understand the situation we're talking about more now. Okay. I can understand that you were taking you taking >> You've seen this a lot.

[00:12:05]>> Yeah, we have. Yeah. And I think I can understand that you were taking experiences you had from past relationships and you're trying to notice the signs.

[00:12:14]>> Killed me.

[00:12:15]>> Okay.

[00:12:15]>> When another man is going to come at me, he's already hit me twice.

[00:12:20]>> Yeah. I'm going to protect myself. I mean, I watch this man every time. I mean, a guy looks at me funny and this beating the crap out of him. And I know what he can do.

[00:12:29]>> That that's all a part of this. Okay.

[00:12:31]But I need one of the things I need to do is I need to understand everything that was going through your head before you decided to stab him.

[00:12:41]>> You know what? It wasn't like a decided to stab him kind of thing. It was a he's coming at me again kind of thing.

[00:12:50]It's more of a self-p protection kind of a >> How close was he to you when he slapped you the first time?

[00:12:55]>> Right.

[00:12:56]>> Did he slap you with his right hand or left hand?

[00:12:59]>> Believe it was his left hand.

[00:13:01]>> Okay. Where were you slapped? Point on your face.

[00:13:04]>> Okay. So, you were you were slapped on the right side of your face?

[00:13:08]>> Mark cuz that's what he was.

[00:13:09]>> Wait. Well, let me see. While we're Well, that's not it has nothing to do with your luck. You're saying he slapped you on the right side of your face the first time. Is that correct? And that was the one that wasn't as hard.

[00:13:19]>> Yeah.

[00:13:20]>> And then the second one was where on this side. Was that with the other hand or was that with the same left hand?

[00:13:27]>> Other hand.

[00:13:27]>> That was with his right hand. Is he right-handed or left-handed?

[00:13:31]>> You know, honestly, I've never watched Kenneth write anything, so I couldn't tell you.

[00:13:34]>> Okay. How much harder was the second slab than the first slap?

[00:13:38]>> A lot harder. Why did he slap you harder the second time than he did the first time?

[00:13:44]>> You have to ask him.

[00:13:46]>> Okay.

[00:13:47]Where did your slap on him fall in the sequence of those two slaps?

[00:13:52]In >> the middle.

[00:13:53]>> In the middle. So he slaps you with his left hand. You slap him with your left or right hand?

[00:13:59]>> Probably right.

[00:14:00]>> Probably right. And did you slap him in the face? Okay. So he slaps you in the left. You slap him with the right.

[00:14:06]>> Which I shouldn't have slapped him.

[00:14:08]>> Well, hang on. I'm I'm not I'm not here.

[00:14:10]>> I did not hit him near as hard as I know. He hit me. I'm not capable of hitting him that hard. I'm I'm trying to just get the facts.

[00:14:17]>> I'm not talking about right or wrong right now. I'm talking about the facts.

[00:14:19]Okay.

[00:14:21]>> He slaps you with his left hand. Then you slap him with your right hand. Then he slaps you back with his right hand.

[00:14:26]Is that correct?

[00:14:30]>> Um 90% sure.

[00:14:34]>> Okay. Now, let me ask you this. Did those things happen pretty much back to back to back?

[00:14:38]>> Not back to back to back.

[00:14:39]>> Okay. Tell me the time frame between the first and second slap. meaning his first lap on you and his and your first lap on him.

[00:14:47]>> I want to say 3 hours cuz it seemed how long, but I know it wasn't. It was probably more like 2 minutes. 3 minutes maybe.

[00:14:54]>> Okay.

[00:14:55]>> Like five max.

[00:14:56]>> And so you're saying 3 hours meaning it just seemed like a lot longer.

[00:15:00]>> Well, yeah, >> but realistically it was a few minutes.

[00:15:02]>> It was a few minutes.

[00:15:03]>> Okay. And so just so we're on the same page, >> in mind I have been drinking.

[00:15:07]>> I understand that is the reason why we do it this way. So, I'm trying to help you remember things that happened, but to be clear, it didn't happen like this.

[00:15:15]He didn't go boom and you slapped him right back, right? Okay. He slapped you.

[00:15:20]What exactly did you do after the first time he slapped you with his left hand?

[00:15:23]>> Kept griping like a >> So, you just kept You guys kept arguing?

[00:15:28]It continued. Did you continue to drink after that first slap?

[00:15:33]>> No.

[00:15:33]>> No alcohol.

[00:15:34]>> Drinking was done.

[00:15:35]>> We haven't been drinking for a minute.

[00:15:37]>> Huh?

[00:15:37]>> We hadn't been drinking for a minute.

[00:15:39]Okay.

[00:15:39]>> So, he slaps you. About 2 or 3 minutes later, you slap him. Now, why did you slap him?

[00:15:46]>> Cuz in my face, you know what I mean?

[00:15:48]And I was angry.

[00:15:49]>> How long after that slap that you slapped him, did he slap you?

[00:15:52]>> After this the second slap?

[00:15:54]>> Mhm.

[00:15:55]>> It was always just a matter of 5 minutes.

[00:15:58]>> Okay.

[00:15:59]>> Then comes the detail the detectives were not prepared for. The knife was not already in her hand. She had to move toward it. That moment, the distance between argument and the weapon is where instinct ends and intention begins. What Brandy thought was a minor detail becomes a horrifying realization.

[00:16:21]This is the point where the interrogation quietly shifts. The detectives understand they have uncovered something deeply consequential.

[00:16:32]>> Okay, let me ask you this cuz they're going to ask me this. And what I mean by they is the people who are going to make decisions on this. Okay?

[00:16:38]>> What kind of decisions like whether or not to arrest me?

[00:16:41]>> Decisions on on what what questions I might need to ask you. Like are you ever going to do something like this again?

[00:16:47]But I I got to get to that point. The first thing I need to ask you is this.

[00:16:50]>> Somebody going to come at me threatening my life again? Yeah, I probably will.

[00:16:53]>> Okay. Let me ask you this.

[00:16:54]>> No. Am I right? Right.

[00:16:55]>> Did that happen? Cuz you hadn't said that yet. Did he threaten your life? Did he say I'm going to kill you? Because I mean >> Well, not per se.

[00:17:01]>> Okay. Well, tell me what if not per se.

[00:17:04]for my wellbeing. He has threatened I mean several times.

[00:17:07]>> Okay, tell me about that.

[00:17:08]>> I I mean he has threatened to I mean in front of several people I'm going to burn down your I mean really I mean he can destroy my entire life but because he didn't say he's going to kill me.

[00:17:20]>> No, I didn't say that.

[00:17:21]>> That makes it okay.

[00:17:22]>> I'm not saying it's okay. I'm not saying it's okay. But Brandy, you have to at least give me the facts. I need to know the facts so that I can do a correct and thorough investigation here. Okay? And that's all I'm asking for is the facts.

[00:17:34]I'm not saying right, wrong, or whatever. I'm asking you for the facts.

[00:17:37]And it sounds like he does a lot of damage to stuff. It sounds like he's a he's a and he does a lot of bad stuff to you. But what I'm talking about is that >> he's hurt people, hurt people, and that's what they do.

[00:17:48]>> Okay. Well, >> and little Kenneth just needs big Kenneth to say, "I'm sorry. I love you."

[00:17:54]And give him the hug.

[00:17:55]>> Let me ask you this. If all he if what he has done is slap you, then get slapped, then slap you again, what made you think if he lunged at you, he was going to do anything other than slap you again?

[00:18:09]>> Do you understand what PTSD is?

[00:18:12]>> I I don't have it, but I've heard of it and I'm familiar with with some aspects of it. How does that come into play?

[00:18:19]>> And I'm not sure exactly which occasion, but I know that Kenneth has threatened my life before. And like I said, my children and I were lucky to make it away from my ex-husband with our lives.

[00:18:28]You have a man that big coming at you and it just hits you. You kind of don't think about it. You just put you in a place you don't want to be.

[00:18:36]>> Is it fair to say though that you stabbed him because he slapped you?

[00:18:41]>> I did not stab him because he slapped you.

[00:18:44]>> You stabbed him because you were afraid he was going to slap you again.

[00:18:47]>> Slap me? He knocked the out of me.

[00:18:51]>> It wasn't a slap. A slap is what you do in a fight.

[00:18:54]>> Okay. Well, I'm trying to get you to explain what happened to me.

[00:18:58]>> Okay. Did he knock you down?

[00:19:00]>> Damn near spun my head around. I said, "Sorry, my head still hurts." So, no.

[00:19:05]Perhaps I was worried he was going to do worse.

[00:19:09]>> And that's what I'm asking. If you thought he was going to do worse, explain to me why you thought he was going to do worse.

[00:19:15]>> Cuz that's what like to do.

[00:19:17]>> Okay. But you're going off of what had happened in the past. Is that correct?

[00:19:21]You're talking about other people. I want to talk about what Kenneth has done. And it seems like Kenneth yells a lot. He does a lot of bad stuff. And I'm not saying that's not bad. I'm not saying >> did not start hitting me. He got me. We weren't on our first date and he just reached over and snack the out of me. It progresses.

[00:19:40]>> Okay.

[00:19:41]>> Fear, as Brandy describes it, is no longer immediate. It becomes predictive.

[00:19:46]She justifies her actions not by what is happening but by what she believed might happen next. This shift is shocking because it reframes violence as prevention rather than reaction. That line of reasoning is dangerous. It suggests that belief alone can justify deadly force. The detectives recognize this as a crucial turning point. I have to answer to individuals who are going to look at this case and they're going to ask and but they're going to ask me because I'm the one investigating this. Okay.

[00:20:22]They ask a couple things. One, did the person did the person feel like they were in fear?

[00:20:28]>> Yes.

[00:20:29]>> For their lives to the point where they had to use deadly force.

[00:20:34]>> That wasn't deadly force. If I wanted to kill him, I would stab him in the heart.

[00:20:37]>> Okay. So, is it fair to say you didn't try to kill him? I >> wasn't trying to kill him. I was trying to stop him.

[00:20:44]>> Can I ask you this? If you wanted to stop, how come you didn't leave?

[00:20:48]>> That's hilarious.

[00:20:49]>> Well, tell me why. Why is that hilarious?

[00:20:51]>> Go to these TV shelters around here. I don't know if there are any. I don't know for words like that, but I'm pretty sure that you can go ask any of them.

[00:20:58]Why don't you just leave? They hunt you down. It doesn't stop.

[00:21:05]Kenneth will stand there in front of anybody, anywhere, anytime, yell at me, call me names. He has sabotaged my truck. He spray painted a note, just a note on my windshield. He they what they do. There is no just leaving.

[00:21:22]>> I understand that >> he me like everywhere like bothers everybody about where I am.

[00:21:32]Okay, fine.

[00:21:35]>> How long have you been with Kenneth?

[00:21:37]>> Off and on since February.

[00:21:39]>> Okay. In that time, how many times has he assaulted you?

[00:21:44]>> I've already answered that question.

[00:21:45]>> Twice tonight, right? Or last night? I guess my question to you is this. Why did you think after being with him since since February, did you think he was going to hurt you enough to where you had to use deadly force on him?

[00:22:02]>> I'm I'm sorry. I can't believe that that's considered deadly force.

[00:22:06]>> Well, you >> I consider it deadly force that he used anything on me because if you see Kenneth, he is stacked. I mean, to me, him hitting me what he did was deadly force. if you want to take it that route.

[00:22:19]>> Well, no, that's why I'm here to ask you.

[00:22:20]>> It's like I'm 5'3.

[00:22:24]I weigh a bill 20 35 maybe. I've been sick anyway. Him coming at me like that to me is threatening my life.

[00:22:33]>> To be clear, >> he's not everybody that has hurt me in my past, >> but based on past experiences, what do you expect me to do?

[00:22:40]>> Well, >> I mean, >> I'm not saying >> all those women that are laying there dead because they didn't >> Okay, I understand that. have a knife.

[00:22:47]>> But you have to understand something. We can't just give cart blanch to all women to stab people. Okay? Let me explain deadly force to you. Okay? A knife is considered a deadly object when it's used in a certain way. You understand that a knife can cut, right? You understand that a knife could could cause serious bodily injury. What I mean by that is no reason.

[00:23:09]>> Okay. It's it's exactly it's to protect yourself right now.

[00:23:12]>> Protect myself from situations such as this.

[00:23:14]>> Okay. I understand that. But you have to understand, we have to articulate why you did what you did. And if we can't do that, then people are going to have questions. I don't want people to have questions about this. I want to be able to answer their questions so that they don't come back and say, "Well, why did she do this? Well, why did she do this?

[00:23:29]Well, how come you didn't ask her this?"

[00:23:31]I want to get this all out on the table so we know exactly what happened. Okay.

[00:23:36]Now, the the one thing that's sticking out in my head is, are we looking at a scenario where you got pissed off because he was yelling at you and he had hit you and you thought enough was enough and you stabbed him.

[00:23:50]Now, you stabbed him for a couple reasons. You got tired of him yelling at you. You got tired of him slapping you.

[00:23:56]Or did you stab him because you just wanted to flat out kill him?

[00:23:59]>> Hell no.

[00:24:00]>> Okay, so you stabbed him.

[00:24:02]>> I killed bugs, dude. I don't I cry if I step on a bug on accident. I don't want to hurt people. I don't like to hurt people.

[00:24:10]>> But you understand if you stab somebody, if you stab somebody, no matter where you stab him, there's a possibility they could die. You understand that, right?

[00:24:17]>> I do.

[00:24:18]>> Okay. And so >> also a genius. And that's one reason I did not stab him anymore. I thought that it was actually going to kill us.

[00:24:26]>> So you thought that much about it to not stab him in the heart, right?

[00:24:30]That honestly seems to be more instinctive because I really didn't think about it. What I was doing was I'm like, "Well, if I It wasn't like that."

[00:24:37]>> Okay, that's what I'm talking about. It can't be both. It can't be both. You can't have the sort of mindset that you're saying, "I'm not going to stab him somewhere that's going to kill him, but then say it was instinctive."

[00:24:46]>> You can have the mindset where you're not going to shoot somebody where it's going to kill him because you shoot him and disable them.

[00:24:53]>> If I consciously if I if I decided to do that, yeah, that would be a conscious decision to do that. And I'm asking you, was this a conscious decision not to stab him in the heart because you didn't want to kill him, or was this just instinctive and you just stabbed him cuz he lunged at you? Cuz those are not the same thing.

[00:25:10]>> Instinctively, I stabbed him cuz he was coming at me. And also, instinctively, God knows that I wouldn't want to ever have to live with killing somebody.

[00:25:21]So, I I aimed or I wouldn't.

[00:25:25]>> Okay.

[00:25:25]>> It wasn't a thought process in my head.

[00:25:27]Well, it is.

[00:25:29]>> It wasn't at that time. It doesn't have to be a instinct.

[00:25:32]>> Now, the interrogation becomes a struggle for authority. Brandy argues as though her experience grants her moral clarity. She speaks confidently, at times almost dismissively, as if she understands violence better than the people questioning her. This is where her belief that she is smarter than the detectives becomes unmistakable.

[00:25:55]But the detectives remain anchored to evidence. No weapon, no active attack, no immediate threat. This is the moment Brandy appears to realize her own statements may be creating serious problems for her. By the final moments, the energy in the room has shifted. The back and forth slows. Bry's resistance gradually gives way to withdrawal. She no longer argues to win. She argues to protect what remains of her version of events. The interrogation does not end with clarity or resolution, but with a quiet understanding that the story she tried to control now exists beyond her words. In the end, it was not confidence or intelligence that defined this interrogation, but the limits of how long a story can withstand the truth.

[00:26:47]After the investigation, Brandy Nicole Phillips was formally charged with the murder of Kenneth Stewart. The case was built on witness statements from the encampment, physical evidence from the scene, and Bry's recorded police interview in which she admitted to stabbing Kenneth. Before the case went to trial, Brandy Nicole Phillips agreed to a plea deal, avoiding a jury trial and the possibility of a longer prison sentence. She was sentenced to 7 years in prison and is currently serving her sentence within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. With her sentencing complete, the case was officially closed.