A Florida woman who reportedly made threatening statements about wanting to kill her ex-boyfriend has been sentenced for later killing her live-in boyfriend.
The victim, Tyler Kinnon Nulisch, 30, was killed by his girlfriend Brittany Nicole Holbrook in 2023 in their Monroe County, Fla., home in what Holbrook claimed was self-defense.
Last month, the 35-year-old woman was found guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm, per Keys News, Local 10 and Keys Weekly.
On Friday, April 11, Holbrook was sentenced to 40 years in prison, per Keys News and Local 10.
The investigation began on June 17, 2023 after the couple’s roommate called 911 to report Nulisch was suffering from a gunshot wound, per Local 10, Keys News and The Miami Herald.
When the roommate asked the victim what happened, Nulisch reportedly told him “that b***h shot me in the back,” the outlets reported, citing police reports.
Nulisch died after he was taken to the hospital.
Holbrook initially claimed self-defense, but prosecutors would later claim in court she did not have any physical injuries to substantiate those claims, per Local 10.
During the early stages of the investigation, a friend of Nulisch’s alleged Holbrook had made claims of fantasizing about killing her ex-boyfriend just two days before Nulisch’s murder.
Jessica Stiegel, who was dating Nulisch’s childhood friend, told FOX News Digital that she was out drinking with Holbrook when the conversation took place.
Stiegel alleged Holbrook, who was getting increasingly drunk, said of her ex-boyfriend: “I’m going to kill him and take a knife into his stomach and rip upward to his throat.”
“It was like she was describing gutting a deer,” Stiegel told FOX News Digital.
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It wasn’t immediately clear if Holbrook mentioned anything to Stiegel about Nulisch in that conversation, but on the day of the murder, Nulisch was found with “significant injuries to his face, head and neck,” Chief Assistant Monroe County State Attorney Joseph Mansfield told the Miami Herald.
These were “all evidence that she severely attacked him, not the other way around,” he told the outlet, adding: “her claim of battered spouse syndrome was simply not supported by the evidence.”
Mansfield’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for confirmation about Stiegel’s statement.
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In an online obituary posted after his death, Nulisch was remembered for his love for his dog and nature.
“His beautiful smile would fill you with love and his easy spirit would brighten your day,” read part of the tribute.
“He always said 6 inches of water on the bully boat and Chief by his side was his perfect day,” it added. “He loved his annual hunting trips to Tennessee with his best of friends.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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