A California man who admitted to intentionally speeding off a cliff with his twin toddler daughters in the backseat said he was sending his girls to "heaven" while he was "going to hell" to wait for their mother following an argument.
As part of a plea deal announced Friday, Robert Brians, 51, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary, child abuse and domestic violence, in connection with the June 2020 incident in which he drove off Sunset Cliffs into San Diego waters, authorities said, according to KSWB-TV.
Brians and his girls were rescued by San Diego K-9 Police Officer Jonathan Wiese, who rappelled down the cliff using his K-9's 100-ft dog leash.
The father accused of kidnapping & intentionally driving his twin daughters off #SunsetCliffs will be arraigned in about 25 minutes. Watch @nbcsandiego at 4 & 5 p.m. to hear his plea. Follow the story here: https://t.co/54jk9qtV6y pic.twitter.com/FOZ3IVTDTs
— Lauren Coronado (@LaurenmCoronado) June 22, 2020
Wiese was among several officers responding to a 911 call from Brians' wife that he intended to drive off a cliff with their children inside his pickup truck.
They were tracked down using cell phone data.
"The girls are going to Heaven and I'm going to Hell to wait for you," one text message sent from Brians to his wife read, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune and KNSD-TV.
Three minutes before hurling his vehicle over a cliff, Brians wrote on Facebook: "Tonight, I'm sending my babies to Heaven," SDPD Det. Aletha Lennier testified, the station reported.
Brians and his daughters survived the plunge, but were hospitalized. According to Lennier, one of the girls suffered a brain bleed and broken back. Both girls suffered abrasions and lacerations.
Brians is expected to be sentenced to 31 years in prison in September.
