Vincent Brothers
Encyclopedia
Vincent Brothers is a convicted American mass murderer and the former vice principal of John C. Fremont Elementary School in Bakersfield, California
. Brothers holds a Master's degree in education from California State University Bakersfield and a Bachelor's degree from Norfolk State University
.
Brothers first gained national attention after the July 6, 2003 death of his wife, Joanie (née Harper), his sons, Marques and Marshall, his daughter, Lyndsey, and his mother-in-law, Earnestine Harper. Although considered a suspect from the beginning, he was not arrested until April 2004. Because of the high media attention surrounding the case, his trial was postponed until February 2007.
During the trial, prosecutors emphasized Brothers' past marriage difficulties. Joanie Harper previously divorced him in 2000, but the couple remarried in Las Vegas
in 2003. Brothers was also known to have extramarital affairs, and further compromised his case by lying while on the witness stand.
On May 15, 2007, Brothers was convicted of the murders after jurors viewed 1,100 exhibits and heard testimony from 137 witnesses. Brothers is believed to have used a .22-caliber gun and "a stabbing weapon". His conviction carried the special circumstance of multiple murder. The same jury recommended on May 29, 2007 that the death penalty by lethal injection be imposed. http://www.bakersfieldonline.us/news/read/2/135172
On September 27, 2007, the Court sentenced Brothers to death. He was later placed into the custody of the California Department of Corrections and placed on death row
at San Quentin State Prison
.
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
. Brothers holds a Master's degree in education from California State University Bakersfield and a Bachelor's degree from Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University is a four-year, state-supported, coed, liberal arts, historically black university located in Norfolk, Virginia. It is member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the Virginia High-Tech Partnership.-Academics:...
.
Brothers first gained national attention after the July 6, 2003 death of his wife, Joanie (née Harper), his sons, Marques and Marshall, his daughter, Lyndsey, and his mother-in-law, Earnestine Harper. Although considered a suspect from the beginning, he was not arrested until April 2004. Because of the high media attention surrounding the case, his trial was postponed until February 2007.
During the trial, prosecutors emphasized Brothers' past marriage difficulties. Joanie Harper previously divorced him in 2000, but the couple remarried in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
in 2003. Brothers was also known to have extramarital affairs, and further compromised his case by lying while on the witness stand.
On May 15, 2007, Brothers was convicted of the murders after jurors viewed 1,100 exhibits and heard testimony from 137 witnesses. Brothers is believed to have used a .22-caliber gun and "a stabbing weapon". His conviction carried the special circumstance of multiple murder. The same jury recommended on May 29, 2007 that the death penalty by lethal injection be imposed. http://www.bakersfieldonline.us/news/read/2/135172
On September 27, 2007, the Court sentenced Brothers to death. He was later placed into the custody of the California Department of Corrections and placed on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
.