A Springfield man pleaded guilty for the stabbing deaths of his girlfriend and her 13-year-old son on New Year’s Eve in 2020.
Brandon Corbin King, 32, admitted to stabbing and killing 32-year-old Stephanie Plumb and 13-year-old Dylan Moore at the home they shared on West Scott Street in Springfield’s Heart of the Westside neighborhood.
King was also charged with stabbing and seriously injuring Plumb’s two daughters, ages 7 and 14, who were also in the home the night King was arrested.
Greene County Circuit Judge Kaiti Greenwade sentenced King to multiple life sentences — all to run consecutively.
King had been scheduled to stand trial in 2024, but indicated he was ready to plead guilty ahead of his court appearance Dec. 15. Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson filed paperwork in February 2023 indicating he planned to pursue the death penalty for King, if King was convicted at trial.
The death penalty is no longer on the table.
King was given two life without parole sentences, two life with the possibility of parole, and four 15-year sentences — all to run consecutively.
King was originally charged with seven counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree assault and three counts of abuse of a child. As part of the plea agreement, the child abuse charges were dropped, as well as two of the armed criminal action charges.
Victims’ father: ‘Everything that used to matter meant nothing’
Jason Moore — Dylan’s father and the father of one of the girls who survived being stabbed — spoke at the plea and sentencing hearing Dec. 15. He recalled getting the phone call, someone telling him his son was dead and his daughter was in the hospital and fighting for her life.
“My whole world was forever changed,” he said, adding that he felt as though he failed as a father because he wasn’t there to keep them safe.
“I prayed and prayed my daughter would come out of surgery and be alright. Dylan was already gone,” he said. “Life was different and everything that used to matter meant nothing.”
Alisa Moore was 14 when she was stabbed by King. She also gave a victim impact statement in court Friday. She recalled being told her mother and brother had died while she was still in the hospital.
“I felt my whole world crumble,” she said. “I felt it was my fault.”
Alisa Moore spoke about how she woke to King stabbing her and how it was her screams that woke her mom. Her mom rushed to help, and then King stabbed her.
“She was the reason I was alive. I just ran,” Moore said. “I know I will never be the same person.”
“I don’t look at people the same way,” Alisa Moore said. “When I hear someone scream, I have a panic attack.”
What happened on that deadly New Year’s Eve?
According to a probable cause statement filed against King, Springfield police responded to a home in the 2000 block of West Scott Street at 12:45 p.m. Dec. 31, 2020, in reference to a 911 call. A girl, under the age of 18, called and reported her throat had been slit.
During the call, the girl allegedly handed the phone to a man — identified as “C.A.” in the statement — who told the 911 dispatcher that he kicked in the front door and saw a white male with a bald head flee further inside the house. C.A. told the dispatcher the man could still be inside. The male caller said he removed a second child, age 7, from the house.
When police officers arrived, they discovered Plumb's body on the floor in the living room. Officers also located Moore's body in a bedroom.
Police soon found King about three blocks to the north of the Scott Street house. He was attempting to steal a car on West Lynn Street.
King told police that he lived with Plumb and Plumb’s children at the home on West Scott Street.
When asked what happened that day, King told police he had a headache, confusion and was “spacing out.”
When an officer asked King to give a summary of what happened, King replied, “I’m guilty” and continued to tell the officer about the stabbings, according to the probable cause statement.
King allegedly continued stabbing Plumb and the kids until he heard C.A. pounding on a door and yelling for King to stop and not hurt the kids. According to the probable cause statement, King told the officer that C.A. kicked open the front door and pointed a gun at him, so he ran off.
King reportedly told a police officer that if C.A. had not interrupted, he would have continued to attack Plumb’s daughter with the intent to kill her.
King also told the officer that he decided to “kill everyone in the house” because he was facing a criminal charge in Christian County and planned to flee from Missouri. He said he planned to steal money and a vehicle from Plumb’s mother.
King remains in the Greene County Jail, awaiting transfer to a Missouri Department of Corrections prison.
King apologizes to victims
Prior to being formally sentenced, King asked to speak. He said he wasn’t there to ask for forgiveness, but he hoped his guilty plea would bring some peace.
“They both had so much life to go,” King said. “She loved her kids more than anything.”
“(Dylan) was full of love and joy,” he said. “I took all that from him.”
He then addressed Alisa Moore, who sat on the front row of the packed courtroom.
“I know you blame yourself. Don’t,” he said. “It was my fault.”
As a bailiff led King away, an older woman jumped up from the front row and yelled to him.
“I still love you,” the woman said and then she turned to face the victims and their families.
“But I’m glad he (pleaded guilty),” she said. “I’m glad it’s over.”
