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Terrifying moment boy, 4, was taken from his bed by stranger as he slept beside his twin – and was never seen again

Terrifying moment boy, 4, was taken from his bed by stranger as he slept beside his twin – and was never seen again

Scottish Sun19 hours ago
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THIS is the harrowing moment a four-year-old boy is kidnapped from his bed next to his twin brother.
Footage shows the man suspecting of abducting and killing Cash, believed to be 22-year-old Darriynn Brown, hovering over the crib in a hoodie and sweatpants with a backpack on in Dallas, Texas.
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The heinous moment four-year-old Cash was allegedly abducted by Brown
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Surveillance footage in the twins' bedroom caught Brown returning just four hours later
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Cash Gernon was taken from the bed as he was sleeping
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Darriynn Brown has been deemed competent to stand trial, a judge declared
His twin brother, Carter, was laying sound asleep next to him.
The man - who is believed to be Brown - continues to hover and appears to hesitate for a couple of seconds before reaching down to grab little Cash.
He then picks him up by under his underarms and carries him out of the bedroom.
The harrowing case is now finally set to come to trial this year.
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And one lawyer told The Sun it is going strain the American legal system, with swirling questions around mental health and competency.
Brown allegedly broke into the house just before 5am on May 15, 2021, and snatched the tot.
The same day, Cash was tragically found dead around eight blocks away from the house by a jogger.
Cash passed away from multiple stab wounds, with cops previously saying his wounds appeared to have been inflicted by an "edged weapon".
Brown was identified following the release of the CCTV footage of a man snatching the four-year-old in the middle of the night.
He is charged with capital murder in the heinous killing and has finally been deemed competent to stand trial, a judge declared four years after the incident.
Cash's blood was found on Brown's clothes, according to the murder affidavit.
Surveillance installed in the six-bedroom Florida Parkway home also shows that, after Cash was snatched from his bed, the culprit returned for his twin brother, Carter.
The second clip appears to show Brown in the bedroom at around 7am, when it's light outside.
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He is captured on camera, like a couple of hours earlier, hovering over the boy who is asleep, but leaves him be after he appears to be scared off by something.
The motive for the alleged abduction of Cash by Brown is unclear.
Now Brown has undergone treatment through an "outpatient competency restoration program" and is now deemed capable of understanding the charges against him, as well as able to participate in his own defence.
Brown was evaluated by two doctors in 2022 and found unable to understand court proceedings and help with his own defence, according to court records.
But in January a doctor said in a report that Brown is competent, with a judge ordering that criminal proceedings against him can continue.
The 22-year-old's lawyer Heath Harris has previously said he has mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, and was hearing voices in the moment he is accused of taking Cash from his bed.
Former prosecutor and defence attorney Dr. Robert Sanders told The Sun how the case could lead to a potential defence of insanity.
He said: "He might be clearly incompetent to understand the wrongfulness of the action he did at that time, and that could lead to a not guilty by reasonable insanity or guilty by insanity and a lockup at a certain point in time.
"The way they usually do this is they treat you and determine when you are reasonably competent to stand trial.
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Cash passed away from multiple stab wounds
Credit: GoFundMe
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Cash Gernon was only four
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The suspect was reportedly seen outside the home the boy was taken from weeks before his death
"They've done all of that, and now he's been determined to be reasonably competent to stand trial, but the defence is still allowed to show that at the time of the offence, he could not understand the wrongfulness of his actions.
"That doesn't mean he is not competent now - but at the time he did it, he may not have understood the wrong of his based on some mental disease or defect."
Dr Sanders also explained how the tragic case could even test the limits of the legal system's ability to balance justice as well as mental health.
He added: " The issues in society are how do we view mental health? And is mental health a mitigation and extenuation?
" So mitigation lessens the impact not of the depth, but of the results of the individual's actions.
"And the extenuation is, 'what is the rationale for the irrational action of murdering a child?'
Chilling moment creep tries to drag teen girl away in kidnap bid at station
"So the jury, the judge, whoever is the trier of the fact, will get to balance those things if in fact they get to a point where they find he's guilty of the crime or not guilty by insanity based on the defence's application at the time that the insanity is an affirmative defence, which means you have to tell the court front that's what you're going to do.
"And once his defence counsel has an opportunity to look at all the evidence, which he hadn't seen, at some point in time he'll be able to say, 'I'm going to assert the affirmative defence of not guilty by insanity' because he wasn't able to contemplate the wrongness of his actions when he took them or not.
"The likelihood is that since he was confined and not able to be tried immediately after this, it seems very likely that that defence is going to come up."
Brown also faces charges of burglary and kidnapping in connection with the four-year-old's heinous abduction, alongside additional burglary and injury to an elderly person charges from another incident, according to court and jail records.
Brown was also reportedly seen in footage lurking outside the home about 10 weeks before Cash was abducted.
The male who is believed to be Brown is seen next to the neighbor's shared fence before he peers into Sherrod's backyard, in the clip published by the Daily Beast.
The suspect, wearing black jeans and a grey tank top, even quickly opens the back gate before promptly leaving the premises.
He is also accused of walking into a home in Dallas in February 2021 - three months before the murder of Cash - and grabbing a young child.
Cops said he broke in and searched the house before punching the homeowner after a confrontation, according to an affidavit.
The homeowner didn't want to press charges at the time and told cops that Brown had apologised.
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"He got some Sambuca out of the fridge, I did one shot and after that I felt like I was becoming less aware. It was almost like I wasn't in my mind or body properly. 'All I remember is being in a hot tub. I'm not sure how I ended up there. Advertisement 18 France secretly recorded hours of footage of drunk girls in his hot tub Credit: CHANNEL 4 18 France broke down and wept when police confronted him with evidence Credit: Channel 4 18 Veteran cop DCI Helen Tebbit had to trawl thousands of sick videos and messages Credit: BPM The confused victim went on: 'Then I woke up in the bed. I didn't have any clothes on which was scary for me - I never undress around people. Advertisement 'He was in the bathroom washing himself because he had blood on him. That's when I realised I was bleeding. 'I've literally never been the same since it happened, I've gone downhill.' Sinister obsession Police were unable to confirm whether she had been spiked, but following her damning testimony they brought France in for questioning and conducted a search of his home, where they discovered restraints attached to his bed and a huge collection of sex toys. There were also love letters, including one from a girl telling him she was leaving school in six months, as well as more than 70 bottles of nasal spray and a huge sign saying Get Naked. Advertisement The search also revealed his sinister obsession with hidden recording devices. Officers found more than 6,000 images and videos of unidentified women secretly filmed at his home between March 2022 and September 2023. Crucially, cops found the key video which showed the woman who'd come forward, barely able to stand, being dragged from the garden to the bathroom and being raped on his bed while she appeared 'lifeless'. He could be heard creepily whispering: "You look so beautiful." Advertisement 18 France scanned the police interview room for cameras Credit: Channel 4 18 The serial rapist tried to maintain his innocence but was later convicted Credit: Channel 4 18 France's police interview is shown in tonight's Channel 4 documentary Credit: Channel 4 Even hardened veteran investigators were stunned by what they saw. Advertisement DCI Tebbit told us: 'It is really incredibly shocking to watch.' Her investigation then took a fresh twist when an online report landed from a second woman claiming France assaulted her too. She told detectives: 'This happened a while ago but I've just got the courage to tell it. "This man that I slept with, he did video it and I was too drunk to realise. His name is Craig France.' Advertisement During a police interview she explained: 'I classed him as a good friend. 'He seemed very nice, he was always offering to buy people drinks. 'He'd get people from the club to go back to his - always him that ordered the taxis. I woke up in the bed. I didn't have any clothes on which was scary for me - I never undress around people Victim "I've only ever been there when I've been drunk, I don't know the address. He didn't seem threatening at all. Advertisement 'He was very arms open, inviting people back to his for after parties. 'He definitely planned who he was going to befriend or bring back home, he'd look for the girls who were more drunk than others. 'He definitely knew what he was doing when it came to taking women back home. He was always encouraging people to drink more when they were already really drunk. 'We'd get into the hot tub and carry on drinking until we couldn't drink more, pass out basically. Advertisement 'Then he started to act a bit weird - his whole character changed - really pushy, always talking about sex all the time. He'd walk around his house naked with his penis out. 'He showed me a video of another girl and I said, 'Turn that off, that's disgusting, does she know?' 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My only thought is that he kept them for his own sexual gratification and to show off DCI Tebbit Appalled DCI Tebbit told us: 'As a human, as a member of society, it really is quite horrifying when you look at the context of his messages and photos that were shared between him and his friends. 'None of them are of the view that there was a problem. Some of them are joking that it looks like a rape scene - that's because it was. 'The fact that we have individuals in our society who find that acceptable is really disturbing. Advertisement "It is incredibly rare to have crimes documented to this extent. My only thought is that he kept them for his own sexual gratification and to show off. "It's ironic that he claimed the recordings could prove the sex was consensual, when in fact they did the opposite." Vile cache 18 Cops downloaded thousands of videos and photos from France's devices Credit: Channel 4 18 Detective Sergeant Mark Hodgson said it was among the worst cases he's seen Credit: Channel 4 Advertisement 18 Detective Sergeant Amie Meston and Detective Constable Em Skates quizzed France Credit: Channel 4 In one of his pathetic police interviews France attempted to defend himself by claiming that sex with the first victim was consensual, but DCI Tebbit observed: 'There's no way she's got capacity to consent to anything. 'She's completely out of it. That shows she was completely incapable, that cannot be considered consensual based on the video - she was in no state to consent to anything. That's really damning. "He deliberately targeted very young women as it may not have taken as much to get them intoxicated. He was using their age as a vulnerability." Advertisement "It was almost like a David Attenborough documentary, watching every single thing he has done in the four walls of his house," she added. Cops also downloaded more than 10,000 photos from France's phone, proving how prolific his attacks have been. Another veteran officer, Detective Mark Hodgson, remarked: 'In 15 years I've not seen anything close to this. He's done it for a long time and it's a way of life.' It also emerged that France was expelled from school for touching other children, and has a history of exposing himself in public places. Advertisement In 15 years I've not seen anything close to this. He's done it for a long time and it's a way of life Detective Mark Hodgson The squad then faced the monumental challenge of identifying the girls in Craig's repulsive video library - and then not only breaking the devastating news that they had been raped, but also showing them the actual footage of what happened. One stunned victim said: ' I was in shock because I had no idea at all. My mind is spinning, I want answers to all my questions. 'It made me angry seeing those videos. He took everything from me and the rest of the girls. He took our dignity. 'We won't be able to trust a man ever again, won't be able to feel comfortable in our bodies ever again.' Advertisement After watching the video of herself being assaulted, another victim said: 'My heart just dropped. 'I felt so much shame, embarrassment, disgusted, but I was more upset about the fact I could have been friends with someone like that. 'There's no excuse, no justification. Everyone he's done this to has to fight to carry on. 'It's always going to be with me, that sort of thing doesn't go away.' Advertisement 'Deplorable predator' 18 Detective Constable Martina Radomska interrogated France Credit: Channel 4 18 Detective Constable Katey Shaw was part of the Cambridgeshire police team Credit: Channel 4 18 Detective Chief Inspector Chris O'Brien was horrified by the evidence Credit: Channel 4 France was sentenced to 10 years and seven months in prison after dramatically pleading guilty before his trial was due to start. Advertisement He was convicted of a string of offences including rape, sexual assault, voyeurism and exposure. Prosecutor Andrew Young said: 'Craig France is a deplorable predator who targeted young women and established their trust, before ruthlessly exploiting them. 'France built up an extensive set of images, all kept for his own sexual gratification. He and he alone is to blame for his disgusting offending.' The judge added that France posed a "toxic risk" to society. Advertisement Speaking ahead of tonight's documentary, DCI Tebbit said: "This programme will show that sexual predators can cleverly disguise their depraved behaviours - victims may not realise they are being groomed. "France portrayed himself as everyone's best friend – caring, fun, and provided what his victims thought was a safe place to party. "But in reality he preyed on young women who had barely entered adulthood for his own sexual gratification." Since the verdict nine more women have come forward - but DCI Tebbit added: 'It haunts me that we'll never know the full extent of what his offending has been. Advertisement 'We can't assume that the digital evidence we have is everything that could have ever happened. "Just because we have a significant volume, that doesn't mean every offence has been recorded so this is an ongoing investigation. "We don't know the full extent of his offending. There could be further victims. "We are keen to hear from anybody who may have been affected." Advertisement Part one of 24 Hours in Police Custody airs tonight at 9pm, with the second instalment on Monday July 7 at 9pm on Channel 4.

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