A 31-year-old father in Minnesota will serve decades in prison for killing his wife while their children were present, shooting her shortly after discovering messages on her phone indicating that she was “involved in an extramarital affair” with another man.
Bryan Demarais was sentenced to just over 30 years in a state correctional facility on Tuesday after pleading guilty to one count of second-degree murder involving the use of a firearm in the 2023 death of 29-year-old Kayla Demarais, according to records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Demarais also pleaded guilty to two counts of felony child endangerment, which will be served concurrently with his murder sentence. Demarais is expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison — approximately 19 years after being credited with 579 days of time served — and the remaining one-third on supervised release, according to Minnesota state law.
The couple’s two children, an 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, were unharmed despite being present during the shooting.
According to Law&Crime, at approximately 10:15 a.m. on December 28, 2023, deputies from the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office responded to an emergency call regarding a shooting at a residence in the 22000 block of 713th Avenue. The caller identified himself as Bryan Demarais and informed the dispatcher, “I would like to report a murder,” adding that he “had just shot his wife.”
“I just finished,” he told the dispatcher, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Bryan Demarais told dispatchers that he shot his wife in the head several times with a.22 caliber handgun during a heated argument. He also asked authorities to ensure that their two children were removed from the house through a bedroom window because he did not want them to see their mother’s bullet-riddled body. Bryan Demarais then agreed to empty his pockets and surrender to law enforcement.
When first responders arrived at the scene, they said they saw Bryan Demarais exiting the house and arrested him right away. Deputies then entered the home and discovered Kayla Demarais, who appeared to have received at least one gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Bryan Demarais told police he has multiple medical issues that qualify him for caregiver services, and that his wife is his designated caregiver.
According to police, Bryan Demarais agreed to be questioned by detectives after being read his Miranda rights. During the subsequent interview, he revealed that he and his wife had argued the night before about a variety of marital issues, including financial difficulties and Kayla Demarais’ extramarital affair.
According to Bryan Demarais, the next morning he checked his wife’s phone and discovered text messages between her and the man she was having an affair with, referred to in the affidavit as “Witness.”
“On the morning of December 28, 2023, [Bryan Demarais] and [Kayla Demarais] were in bed,” according to the confession. ” [Kayla Demarais] was lying on [Bryan Demarais’] arm when her phone vibrated. [Bryan Demarais] then observed Witness’ messages to [Kayla Demarais]. [Bryan Demarais] yelled at [Kayla Demarais] for not focusing on their relationship and cheating on him.”
He then told the two children, before leaving for work, that he and their mother were getting divorced because she was having an affair.
When his wife attempted to call him on his way to work, Bryan Demarais said he “became even more pissed” at her and refused to answer. After declining his wife’s calls, he claimed he couldn’t remember anything.
Bryan Demarais was allowed to leave work early after arriving 15 minutes late and discussing his wife’s cheating and impending divorce with his supervisor. The supervisor reported that Bryan Demarais appeared “distraught.”
The couple’s children told police that their father arrived home from work early while they were playing video games and prepared them a snack. Both children reported hearing their parents argue, followed by multiple gunshots, before hearing their mother scream and falling to the ground in the living room. Their father then yelled for the children to close the door to their bedroom.
Kayla Demarais was identified as the owner of the.22-caliber semi-automatic handgun used in the murder.
