Brittany Nicole Holbrook shot and killed her boyfriend Tyler Kinnon Nulisch, deputies have said. (Mugshot: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)
Brittany Nicole Holbrook, 33, is charged with second degree murder for allegedly killing 30-year-old Tyler Kinnon Nulisch. The dying man yelled at his roommate that “The b—- shot me in the back,” documents reportedly said.
According to deputies in Monroe County, Florida, Holbrook claimed Nulisch strangled her, but authorities said she did not have the telltale injuries from such an act.
Authorities said they were called around 2:45 a.m. Saturday to a medical emergency at a home on Big Coppitt Key Island. The couple’s roommate had called 911 to say Nulisch was “in bad shape,” according to the arrest affidavit obtained by Keys Weekly.
“He’s really badly hurt and there’s a lot of blood,” the roommate said.
Law enforcement arrived within five minutes and firefighter paramedics followed soon after, documents show.
First responders found Nulisch bleeding from the lower back. Initially surviving the fatal injury, he was breathing but was unconscious.
“A 9mm handgun and a 9mm bullet casing were found nearby,” deputies said. “Nulisch was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center on Stock Island where he died.”
The roommate told investigators that he and the couple drank booze on their patio after work and went to bed. He woke up to hear Holbrook screaming in the living room.
Holbrook reportedly told law enforcement that she and Nulisch had been dating for about nine months and lived together in the bedroom with their roommate. She said there was a gap in her memory, according to documents. Holbrook reportedly maintained that she slept in the bedroom she shared with Nulisch.
“The next thing she remembered was being in the living room holding Nulisch, who was covered in blood,” documents say. “She was screaming, which woke [the roommate]. [The roommate] called 911 and let the deputies answer the front door a few minutes later. Holbrook said Nulisch made no statement while lying on the ground.
Holbrook later told detectives she remembered more, according to documents.
“She said she remembered Nulisch getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. When he came back from the bathroom he was like a different person and started attacking her,” documents say. “As she was held against the wall, she described Nulisch clutching her throat with his hands hard enough to restrict her breathing. No marks of any kind were observed around his throat. No petechiae were observed in any of his eyes.
Petechiae are burst capillaries, which strangulation can cause.
“Nulisch said she punched and scratched Nulisch. Bruises on several knuckles of her right hand were observed,” documents say. “Holbrook said she believed Nulisch was trying to kill her. She continued to claiming there was a hole in her memory and that she could not remember how she was able to get away from Nulisch Nulisch said she had not fired a gun since moving from Stuart , in Florida, more than nine months ago.
But MPs called his statements inconsistent. Noting the roommate’s account, Nulisch’s last words, and the absence of injuries consistent with strangulation, the affiant concluded that there was probable cause to arrest him for murder.
Holbrook is locked up without bail. His arraignment is scheduled for June 28.
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