A Pennsylvania woman was convicted for enlisting her son to murder her ex-boyfriend after he broke up with her. Now, the woman will possibly spend the rest of her life in prison for concocting a plan to have her lover killed.
Joyce Brown Rodriguez, 56, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, and related minor charges in December 2022. These charges stem from the December 2020 shooting death of Christopher Wilson, 52, her former partner of two years, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
An Investigation into the case showed that Wilson and Brown Rodriguez were romantically involved from 2018 until Wilson ended it.
Distraught, Brown Rodriguez bombarded Wilson with calls and texts before showing up at his workplace on Dec. 9, 2020, a day prior to the shooting.
She messaged her son to come to Kuusakoski Inc., a recycling facility in Middletown Township, to help her confront her ex.
According to her own testimony, she drove her son to Wilson’s workplace, parking discreetly. As Wilson talked with a colleague outside his car, her son emerged, firing multiple rounds even after Wilson dropped to the ground.
After the deadly shooting, Brown Rodriguez and her son drove back home to Philadelphia. She was eventually arrested and worked out an agreement with the prosecutors.
Bucks County Court Judge Jeffrey Finley sentenced Brown Rodriguez to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 40 years behind bars, according to a press release from DA Matthew D. Weintraub’s office.
Finley called the killing a “callous murder.”
As a part of her plea deal, she had to testify against her son, whom she asked to kill Wilson.
Seven months later, in July 2023, the woman scorned took the stand against her own son, Khalill Saleem Brown, 34.
While testifying before the grand jury, Brown Rodriguez said her sole intention was for her son to talk with Wilson on her behalf.
Contrarily, law enforcement presented evidence to the grand jury indicating that Brown-Rodriguez had been searching for a gun in the days preceding the shooting.
Brown now has a first-degree murder conviction based largely on his mother’s testimony. Like his mom, he now faces a lengthy prison term. Brown will be sentenced next month by the same judge.
For Finley, he rationalized giving such a long sentence based on the multiple impact statements from the deceased’s family, friends, and co-workers who witnessed the crime.
“The day I got that phone call is a day I will never forget,” one of the man’s five daughters testified, according to the D.A.’s office. “Hearing those words crushed me.”
Chynea Wilson, one of the victim’s daughters, could not believe Brown Rodriguez still tried to maintain a relationship with her.
“You had the audacity to walk up and hug me when you had your son murder my father,” she said during her victim impact testimony.
She continued, “You were shameless, like a demonic person, acting like nothing had happened. For that, you deserve everything coming to you.”
