Tyler & Charlee Worley

Case background and investigation

In the early morning hours of November 17, 2016, in the small town of Darlington, Indiana (about 40 miles northwest of Indianapolis), Brandi Worley called 911 and, according to authorities, told the dispatcher in a flat voice, "I just stabbed myself and killed my two children." Responding officers found her seven-year-old son, Tyler Worley, and three-year-old daughter, Charlee Worley, dead in their beds from multiple stab wounds. Brandi Worley was found with self-inflicted wounds to her neck and wrists. The children's father, Jason Worley, was elsewhere in the home during the killings. Police reported that the deaths came one day after Jason Worley filed for divorce, citing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

According to court documents and prosecutors, Brandi Worley told investigators she killed the children because she did not want her husband to take them from her in the divorce, reportedly stating, "I did not want him taking them." Prosecutors said she purchased a knife at a Walmart the night before the killings. She was charged with two counts of murder. Because Brandi Worley confessed and later pleaded guilty, the case was resolved through the courts rather than remaining unsolved; there was no dispute over the identity of the person responsible, and forensic or DNA developments were not central to the prosecution.

Worley initially indicated she might pursue an insanity defense but instead pleaded guilty in January 2018. On March 20, 2018, a Montgomery County judge sentenced her to 120 years in prison, imposing 55 years on one count and 65 years on the other, to be served consecutively. Reports indicate she gave no statement at sentencing. As of 2026, Brandi Worley remains incarcerated in the Indiana Department of Correction system, serving her sentence; the conviction has stood and the recorded status of conviction is accurate. This case is a resolved homicide rather than an unsolved or cold case.