As a result of the fact that he fatally shot his wife shortly after viewing texts on her phone showing that she was “involved in an extramarital affair” with another man, a Minnesota parent who is 31 years old will spend decades in prison for the murder of his wife while his children were present in the house.
On Tuesday, Meek County District Judge Stephanie L. Beckman issued an order that ordered Bryan Demarais to spend a sentence of little more than thirty years in a state correctional facility. This decision was made after Bryan Demarais entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder including the use of a handgun in the 2023 homicide of Kayla Demarais, who was now 29 years old.
In addition, Demarais entered a guilty plea to two charges of felony child endangerment, and the sentences for those counts will run concurrently with the sentence for murder. In accordance with the laws of the state of Minnesota, it is quite probable that Demarais will serve around 19 years of his sentence in prison, being credited with 579 days of time served, and the remaining one-third of his sentence will be served on supervised release.
The couple’s two children, a girl who was eight years old at the time and a boy who was eleven at the time, were not injured in the shooting, despite the fact that they were present in the house at the time of the incident.
At approximately 10:15 a.m. on December 28, 2023, deputies from the Meeker County Sheriff’s office responded to an emergency call regarding a gunshot that occurred at a property located in the 22000 block of 713th Avenue. This information was previously reported. The caller, who identified himself as Bryan Demarais, informed the dispatcher, “I would like to report a murder,” and went on to explain that he “had just shot his wife.”
A probable cause affidavit states that he informed the dispatcher, “I just finished,” as the reason for his departure.
During a violent altercation, Bryan Demarais told the dispatchers that he shot his wife multiple times in the head with his revolver, which had a caliber of.22. In addition, he requested that the authorities take measures to ensure that their two children were removed from the house through a window located in the bedroom. He asked for this because he did not want them to witness their mother’s body, which was covered in bullet holes. When Bryan Demarais reached that stage, he consented to hand over his belongings to law enforcement and empty his pockets.
According to the first responders who arrived at the site, they saw Bryan Demarais leaving the house and immediately took him into jail after they found him. It was then that the deputies entered the residence, where they discovered Kayla Demarais, who seemed to have been shot in the head at least once. Her death was confirmed at the scene of the incident.
In his statement to the police, Bryan Demarais stated that he is a recipient of caregiver services due to the fact that he suffers from several medical conditions. He also stated that his wife was his designated caregiver.
According to the police, Bryan Demarais consented to being questioned by detectives after being informed of his rights under the Miranda warnings. During the subsequent interview, he explained that he and his wife had a disagreement the night before over a variety of marital concerns, including financial difficulties and Kayla Demarais having an affair outside of their marriage.
In the affidavit, Bryan Demarais states that he looked at his wife’s phone the following morning and discovered text messages between her and the man with whom she was having an affair. The subject of these communications was referred to as “Witness.”
“On the morning of December 28, 2023, [Bryan Demarais] and [Kayla Demarais] were in bed,” according to the court document. ” When [Kayla Demarais’] phone rang, she was lying on [Bryan Demarais’] arm. [Kayla Demarais] was laying on [Bryan Demarais’] arm. After then, [Bryan Demarais] looked at the texts that Witness had addressed to [Kayla Demarais]. During the conversation, [Bryan Demarais] raged at [Kayla Demarais] for not making an effort to improve their relationship and for cheating on him.
Afterwards, before he left for work, he had a conversation with the two children, during which he informed them that he and their mother were going to divorce due to the fact that she was having an affair.
Bryan Demarais stated that he “became even more pissed” at his wife despite the fact that she attempted to call him while he was on his way to work. He refused to answer her call. After repeatedly turning off his wife’s calls, he asserted that he had no recollection of anything.
After arriving 15 minutes late to work and having a conversation with his supervisor about his wife’s infidelity and the likely termination of their marriage, Bryan Demarais was granted permission to leave work earlier than expected. It was reported to the police by the supervisor that Bryan Demarais appeared to be “distraught.”
The children of the couple reported to the authorities that their father had made them a snack while they were playing video games after he had returned home from work earlier than expected. The two children reported that they heard their parents get into a heated dispute, followed by the sound of many gunshots, and finally, they heard their mother scream and saw her fall to the ground in the living room. After then, their father called up to the children, telling them to shut the door to their bedroom.
It was determined by the police that Kayla Demarais was the owner of the semi-automatic weapon with a.22-caliber revolver that was used in the murder.
