SPOKANE, Wash. — The man accused of murdering two people in northeast Spokane made his first appearance in court Tuesday.
Twenty-five-year-old Brandon Kenny is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. On Tuesday, district court judge Jennifer Fassbender kept bond at $1 million
Colton Russell and Kiara Morgan-Weiland were killed on the night of Dec. 8, 2023. Nearly ten days later, police arrested 25-year-old Brandon Kenny in connection to Russell and Morgan-Weiland's murders. As Kenny prepares to face a judge for the first time, newly filed court documents are shedding light on what happened leading up to and in the days after the murders.
Officers with the Spokane Police Department (SPD) responded to a reported shooting just after 11 p.m. on Dec. 8. The shooting reportedly happened near Cleveland Ave. and Cuba St. in northeast Spokane. When police arrived, they found Russell's body in the driver's seat of a silver Dodge Caravan. Morgan-Weiland's body was found on the ground near Cuba St. and Grace Ave.
Investigators with the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office determined Russell died from a gunshot wound and Morgan-Weiland was stabbed more than 50 times, according to court documents.
During the initial investigation, police were able to view security camera footage from a nearby home. Court documents state the suspect, later identified as Kenny, was seen approaching a silver van from the south at approximately 11:01 p.m. Approximately 30 seconds later, the footage showed glass from the driver's side of the van falling onto the road, "presumably from gunfire." A few seconds later, Kenny and another man can be seen at the rear of the van before returning to the passenger side.
At 11:02 p.m., court documents state the right turn signal of the van started flashing and Kenny was seen running to the east before coming back to the van. At 11:03 p.m., Morgan-Weiland comes into view and appeared to be running away from Kenny, according to documents.
Documents say surveillance video from a different house showed what appeared to be Kenny and the unknown man walking westbound on Cleveland Ave. at 11:05 p.m., approximately three minutes after the shooting was reported. Court documents state Kenny can be seen making a phone call before handing the phone to the other man.
The following morning, officers spoke with a SPD detective and learned Morgan-Weiland and Russell were both suspects in the disappearance of 49-year-old Jannell Martensen. Court documents state there was speculation their murders were in retaliation for her disappearance, though this has not been confirmed.
On Dec. 14, police raided a house on Fairview Avenue and detained several people who were inside the home. One of those people, who is a friend of Kenny, was able to identify him in the surveillance video, according to documents.
Kenny was arrested Saturday. According to documents, Kenny admitted to both killings when questioned by investigators. He said he went to Russell's house last month and found him crying on the couch. Russell allegedly told Kenny he accidentally killed Martensen, before threatening to kill Kenny unless he helped move her body.
Kenny told investigators he helped move Martensen's body before leaving the house, according to court records.
On the night of the shooting, Kenny said he met up with Russell, Morgan-Weiland and another man. While they were all together, Russell reportedly told Kenny he was worried he would go to police and talk about the missing woman. Court documents state that was when Kenny "decided that he was going to kill Russell."
At that point, Kenny shot Russell six times before stabbing Morgan-Weiland more than 50 times. Kenny told investigators he killed Morgan-Weiland because she also knew about the situation.
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