Arrest Warrant: Son Said Henderson Was 'Killing' His Mother

PAWCATUCK, CT — Brandia Monique Irvin would have turned 42 on Monday Dec. 16 had her life not been stolen in an attack police early on referred to as a “domestic incident.”

The details are almost beyond imagining.

A mother of two, Irvin begged to be able to hold her child and was denied. And then, police say, Carlton T. Henderson, 44, began stabbing her. Her young son a witness. The boy later told a neighbor and police that Henderson was "killing" his mother.

Held on $1.5 million bond, with the charges still listed as attempted murder, police say Irvin’s live-in and longtime boyfriend will undoubtedly face a murder charge when he appears in court on Dec. 23. After a week in the intensive care unit at Yale New Haven Hospital, Irvin died as a result of the injuries she suffered.

Two Days After Thanksgiving

It was 8 in the morning on Saturday Nov. 30. Irvin’s son later described to police what happened.

The following is from the information in the arrest warrant filed in Superior Court provided to Patch, with most of the very graphic details of the attack omitted:

The boy said Henderson, known as “Chico," and his mother came into his room inside the house at 77 Mechanic St., in Pawcatuck. He heard his mother say, “Wait, just let me hold my son." He witnessed Henderson’s viciously violent attack on her. She tried to get away begging, “Just stop, we can talk” to which Henderson responded, "No, it's over.”

Irvin told her son to get help. The boy, 12, ran to the neighbor’s house and said his mother was being “killed” by Henderson. The call came in on the routine police department phone line. In the charging documents, it’s noted that the neighbor did not call 911 because they apparently believed it was “probably just a verbal argument.”

Stonington Police officer Kristy Murray was the first to arrive and found Irvin lying on the ground near the stairs to the first-floor apartment where she, Henderson and her son lived. She was not breathing and without a pulse. Murray immediately began CPR to try and save Irvin’s life. Westerly (RI) Ambulance Corps medics arrived, took over treatment and rushed Irvin to Westerly Hospital, where she was soon airlifted via Life Star helicopter to Yale New Haven Hospital. By 5 p.m. that Saturday, the news was grim: Irvin was in “extremely critical” condition, her brother reported to police in a text message.

77 Mechanic Street on the night of Nov. 30. Photo courtesy Chris Ward

As One Was Trying To Save Irvin’s Life, Henderson Tried To Run Down 2 Other Officers

Two Stonington police officers were pulling up to the scene when Henderson was fleeing in his light-colored 2005 Nissan Maxima. An officer tried to get him to stop but Henderson “looked directly at (the officer) making eye contact with him and driving right towards him. The officer pointed his gun at Henderson but he kept coming at police, both of whom had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Henderson sped off north on Mechanic Street.

It would be six days before police would have him in custody. Six days of family, friends, neighbors and the community on edge.

After 5 Days Of Hunting Henderson, When Finally Caught & Taken To Court, Brandia Irvin Died

Witness identification, his known relationship with Irvin, his car registration and his criminal record confirmed Henderson as the suspect. And soon, who police say are “acquaintances” and at least one of which was his sister who spoke extensively on the record with Patch on the day of the attack and in subsequent conversations, told detectives that they had spoken to Henderson. The descriptions in the warrant concurs, at least in part, with statements made by Tara Hederson to Patch. They said “Henderson appeared calm at first and said he probably would be dropping by.” When asked where he was, he wanted to know “why they were questioning him.” He was asked, “‘what was wrong’ and he said, ‘Everything, it’s just bad.’”

He was asked “why he stabbed the victim. Henderson replied, "’they were fighting.’" They tried to convince Henderson to turn himself into the police. Tara Henderson’s account of her conversations with her brother match, in part, what is in the warrant. She told Patch her brother smoked ‘dust’ (PCP or Angel Dust) and was generally suspicious of others. Read more about her account to Patch here.

Another “acquaintance” told investigators that “Henderson has been acting erratically and described him as being paranoid” and that he had been smoking PCP, also described as “wet” combined in a marijuana joint or blunt. This acquaintance told detectives that around five hours after the attack, they’d talked with Henderson on the phone. That witness told police that they “told Henderson he had stabbed the victim to which Henderson said he could not remember and to not tell him that.” That person tried to get Henderson to say where he was. He refused.

Over the course of five days, there were reported sightings of Henderson. In one, a number of Groton schools were placed on lockdown and a neighborhood alerted and cautioned. Local, state and federal law enforcement were involved in that search.

But it was the wrong man.

He’d be hiding out for another two days until Thursday Dec. 5 when he was captured in a Norwich apartment complex.

The next day, Friday Dec. 6, when he appeared in court on an attempted murder charge, Brandia Irvin died.

Celebrating Brandia's Life & #BrandiasBill

Family, friends and now lawmakers, are working on creating legislation dubbed #BrandiasBill that helps victims of domestic violence before tragedy.

Irvin, who was born in New London, graduated from Stonington High School and worked at The Washington Trust, her obituary reads.

“Brandia enjoyed music and dancing. It would not take long after she heard a good song to start moving with the beat. Her bright personality was contagious with all she met. Her greatest joys were her two sons, Dante and Javon. She was a loving and devoted mom.”

A celebration of her life was held Sunday. And a GoFundMe was created to help Irvin's family.

GoFundMe is a Patch partner.