A Utah man has admitted to not only helping but filming his 16-year-old friend die by suicide in May 2017.
Tyerell Przybycien, now 19, agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of child abuse homicide in connection with Jchandra Brown’s death. Przybycien provided the rope Brown would use to hang herself—and also tied the noose and set up the makeshift pedestal she would use to take her own life, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The Daily Herald reported that a turkey farmer found Brown’s body at Maple Lake Campground in Payson Canyon. Investigators who responded to the scene located two grocery bags, a receipt listing the purchase of a cell phone and rope, and a cell phone.
Brown also left behind a handwritten note where she says a cell phone video will “answer questions about what happened.” Located under her corpse was a cell phone containing a 10-minute video which showed her inhaling air cleaner, losing consciousness, and dying, according to the newspaper.
Defense attorneys argued that Brown chose to ingest the compressed air that caused her to slip off the rock she was standing on, resulting in her hanging. However, The Tribune reported that Przybycien admitted to filming the video that showed Brown’s hanging death.
In it, Przybycien can be heard saying “um” and “OK” as Brown hangs from a tree. At one point, he instructs Brown to put her “thumbs up” if she’s OK.
“That’s when the brain stops getting oxygen,” he was also heard saying.
The video concludes with Przybycien stating, “I guess I’ll just leave this here now,” referring to the 16-year-old’s body.
Police also alleged that Przybycien bragged to a friend about his plans to help Brown kill herself, telling them in text messages that it would be like “getting away with murder.”
In accepting a plea deal, prosecutors dropped murder, failure to report a dead body, and witness tampering charges. The newspaper reported that he also pleaded guilty to having child porn on a cell phone that police searched following Brown’s death.
Przybycien faces five years to life in prison when he’s sentenced on December 7.
[Featured Image: Tyerell Przybycien/Utah County Jail; Jchandra Brown/Facebook]
