Labeled as one of the most heinous crimes any individual could commit, area high school student Philip Brown is reportedly facing 25 years to life in prison for the first-degree murder of an 187-day Snapstreak with former acquaintance Lauren Jones.
Sources say that the two began their Snapstreak last August when Jones sent a selfie and captioned it, “How’s it going?” From then on, the two Snapchatted every day for the next six months straight. Their Snapchat relationship flourished, reaching the blushing smiley face within the first few days of their streak, and then the yellow heart after just two weeks. The two had gotten all the way to the pink heart by the time the streak was murdered in cold blood.
Jones’s mother, Carolyn Jones, notified authorities as soon as she discovered the homicide.
“I came home and my daughter was lying face down in her bedroom, tightly clutching her rose gold iPhone 6s,” Mrs. Jones explained. “I inspected the screen and saw the blank arrow and the lack of a Snapstreak. I called the police right away.”
Shortly after, sources confirmed that four police cars and a SWAT team arrived at Brown’s house and detained the individual. The town’s police chief, George Mathis, personally interrogated Brown at the penitentiary.
“On the surface, Brown may have seemed like your average high schooler, but no one in their right mind would even think about committing a crime like this. Our town will be much safer with this lunatic off the streets,” Mathis stated.
“I just don’t understand why anyone would do this to our little girl,” Mrs. Jones choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Brown’s court date is set for next Tuesday, and the prosecution feels they have a strong case against the young man.
“I’m confident that we can lock him away for the rest of his life,” Jones’s lawyer, Chad Leslie, remarked. “God knows he deserves it.”
The case has sparked international attention from media outlets in the U.S., the UK, France, and elsewhere around the world. People are commenting on the severity of this crime in essentially every language on Earth.
Even Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic world, weighed in on the situation.
“Not even Lucifer himself could have committed such an atrocious deed. The devil has a new name and that name is Philip Brown,” the Pontifex remarked.
Brown’s parents, Daniel and Lori Brown, are also under investigation by the state. Many believe that they should be tried as accomplices to the murder committed by their son, but the couple strongly disagrees.
“Philip has always been a little off, but we did not think he was capable of committing such an appalling crime,” Daniel Brown explained. “My wife and I had nothing to do with the incident, and we will no longer affiliate ourselves with our criminal of a son.”
From the defense’s standpoint, Brown is claiming the incident was not a homicide but rather an accidental death. Defense attorney Stan Montgomery, one of the only lawyers in the country willing to take Brown’s case, hopes to work out some sort of plea bargain with the prosecution.
“The kid is guilty,” Montgomery stated bluntly. “But with some negotiation, there’s a slim chance of avoiding a life sentence.”
Although calling the crime “immoral” would be an understatement, the response to the crime has made some regain the slightest sliver of faith in humanity. Jones’s school has set up support groups and recently held a grief counseling assembly for the entire student body. In addition, a GoFundMe set up by her high school has already raised over $50,000 in efforts to aid Jones in her recovery.
We reached out to Jones for a statement, but her mother denied on her behalf.
“Lauren hasn’t come out of her room since the incident,” Mrs. Jones stated. “People need to think about the effects their actions will have on others. Philip is a sick, sick person, and I hope he learns his lesson in the harshest way possible.”
