Brandon Bernard

Brandon Anthony Micah Bernard (July 3, 1980 – December 10, 2020) was one of the main perpetrators of the murders of Todd and Stacie Bagley in 1999.

Crime

On June 21 1999, Bernard, Christopher Vialva and three friends approached the Bagleys, held them at gunpoint and forced them into the back of their car. They drove round for several hours before using the Bagleys bank card to withdraw cash from an ATM and stealing their jewellery. Afterwards they pulled over and poured lighter fluid over the car. Vialva then shot both of the Bagleys in the head and Bernard set the car on fire. According to the autopsy report, Todd was killed when Vialva shot him, but Stacie had signs of smoke inhalation in her lungs, meaning she had survived the shot and been killed when Bernard set the car on fire.

Bernard was convicted in a Federal court and sentenced to death. This decision was controversial due to several new studies showing that 18-year-olds have less control over their impulses than adults and testimony that Bernard had reformed in prison and was unlikely to be a repeat offender. Despite these claims Bernard was executed by lethal injection on December 10 2020 after President Donald Trump reinstated the Federal death penalty.