Father pleads guilty to driving twins off cliff

SAN DIEGO (Court TV) — A California father will spend decades behind bars after pleading guilty to driving off a cliff in an attempt to kill himself and his twin daughters.

Robert Brians, seen here appearing for a court hearing remotely, is accused of intentionally driving his truck off a cliff with his young daughters inside. (Court TV)

Robert Duane Brians pleaded guilty on Aug. 9 to eight charges, including attempted murder, child abuse, kidnapping and domestic violence. Under the agreement, Brians will be sentenced to 31 years in prison at a hearing on Sept. 20.

Brians initially faced 13 charges for the June 13, 2020, incident that his then-two-year-old daughters survived.

Police were dispatched just before 5 a.m. that day to a report of a man who was making suicidal threats at Sunset Cliffs. Police said they received a phone call from a Jenna Brians, described as “hysterical,” who said that her ex-husband took their children and said he was going to drive off the Coronado Bridge.

The man, later identified as Robert, was reported to be driving a tan Dodge pickup truck and had a gun with him. San Diego police said that when the first officer was able to track down the truck, Robert took off before the officer could make contact and drove directly off of the cliff, landing approximately 80 feet down in the water below.

“Without warning, the male drove his truck directly off the cliffs and directly into the ocean,” San Diego Police Officer Jonathan Wiese said. “We looked over the bluff here and saw the truck was upside-down and submerged in the water, just the wheels and the undercarriage were sticking out.”

Robert had initially pleaded not guilty and faced a maximum sentence of life without parole if he was convicted of the most serious charges.