A man who tried to kill his own two-year-old twin daughters by driving off a cliff into the sea has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
Robert Duane Brians deliberately swerved off Sunset Cliffs in San Diego and plunged his car into the ocean while holding his children Hailey and Aubrey on his lap behind the wheel on June 13, 2020.
The 51-year-old had abducted the toddlers from his parents’ house after a planned visit the previous evening and drove off with them.
He then sent a series of messages and made a number of calls to his wife Jenna Brians ‘clearly stating she may not see her kids again’.
‘The girls are going to heaven and I’m going to hell to wait for you,’ one message read.
A post he made on Facebook earlier that day also said: ‘Tonight, I’m sending my babies to heaven.’
Brians initially denied all charges but has now changed his plea, reports MailOnline.
Police were first notified by Jenna about the concerning messages Brians was sending her at around 4.30am.
Jenna told them she thought her estranged husband was going to drive off the Coronando Bridge, but Brians was spotted by police driving near Sunset Cliffs half an hour later.
Moments later, he suddenly veered off the road and his pick up truck plummeted down the cliff face and into the Pacific Ocean as helpless officers watched on.
Both Brians and his children were miraculously saved from the sinking car by hero K9 officer Jonathan Wiese who used a 100ft dog lead as a makeshift rope to rappel down the rockface while five other cops held onto the other end.
He then dived in and swam to the car where he found Brians holding the girls in his arms on his lap.
The court heard how the girls would not have survived if they were in the back seat.
Wiese described how when he reached the car, Aubrey was clinging on to her father’s neck crying but Hailey was limp and looked like she was dead.
He said Brians was talking angrily about his wife and told him that he was ‘going to die’ and ‘the girls were coming with him’.
After pulling them to safety from the car, the girls were hoisted up in a backpack and taken to an ambulance.
Brians was pushed to shore by Wiese, who stayed with him until he could be arrested.
Hailey was unable to breathe on her own following the crash after suffering a bleed on the brain and compression fractures to her vertebrae.
Aubrey came away with minor scrapes but they were both kept in intensive care before being discharged having made a full recovery.
Just three months before the shocking incident, Jenna had posted a picture on Instagram of the family all together and said: ‘My little family is the best team I could ever have.’
She had been married to Brians since November 2017 and they appeared from the outside to be living a happy life.
But Brians also pleaded guilty to child abuse and domestic violence – along with attempted murder, kidnapping and burglary – in order to have other charges dropped as part of a plea bargain.
He will be sentenced to 31 years in prison next month.
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