I think my roommate is um, in pretty bad shape. Um, he's hurt. I I >> He's hurt? >> Yeah, he's hurt real bad. Yeah, there was a lot of blood. >> You mentioned that he had said something to you. What was that? >> Yeah, I don't know what he said cuz I was trying to figure out what the what the hell happened. >> Well, we have to do our investigation and find out who did this to him. >> Yes. >> But I'm going to be 100% honest with you. At this point, it looks like >> 30-year-old Tyler Kinan Newlish has been shot in the back inside his Florida Keys home. His girlfriend first claims she remembers nothing. Then she says Tyler tried to strangle her. But before losing consciousness, Tyler reportedly identified the person responsible. >> 911, what's the location of your emergency? >> I think my roommate is um, >> [clears throat] >> in pretty bad shape. Um, he's hurt. I I >> He's hurt? >> Yeah, he's hurt real bad. Yeah, there was a lot of blood. >> How did he get hurt? >> He was in the bed. I don't know. I don't know. I'm just We got woken up. I just know I need some help, please. >> Is he conscious and breathing? >> In and out. In and out. >> Where is the blood coming from? >> It is back. >> have any weapons? >> No, I do not. >> Shortly before 3:00 a.m., Monroe County Dispatch receives an urgent call from Jordan Kin. Jordan says Brittany's screams woke him. He found Tyler on the living room floor fading in and out of consciousness with blood coming from his back. When deputies arrive, they find a weapon nearby. >> What's going on? >> Got a lot of blood on the floor. You woke up and saw this? >> I heard I heard her scream in the house. >> Who woke you up? >> My roommate's girlfriend. >> Come on, come on, come on. It's bad, it's bad. She's holding pressure on a wound on the back. >> Is it hot? >> No. But there is one missing. >> Deputies find Brittany cradling Tyler while paramedics attempt to save him. A 9-mm handgun and spent casing are recovered from the residence. Tyler has been shot in his lower left back. Officers separate Brittany and Jordan before either can influence the other's account. >> So, what happened? >> I don't know. >> You don't know? >> I went to sleep. I don't know. >> Did you hear a gunshot? >> No. >> [crying] >> I went to sleep. >> Britney says she went to sleep and woke to find Tyler bleeding. She claims she heard no gunshot and cannot explain what happened. But Jordan tells deputies that he saw a pistol on the living room floor. >> His girlfriend What's her his girlfriend's name? >> Britney. >> Britney. So you heard Britney scream. >> Yeah. She yelled "Jordan, please help." >> So Jordan, please help. You come out of your room. And then he's just laying there on the ground. What's >> She's holding him, laying on the ground. >> She's holding him. Did you see like a Did you see anything around like a knife, any type of weapon at all? >> I did I did I did pretty sure there's a pistol. I don't I think I would have heard a shot. >> Where is the pistol located? He He has a >> on the floor when I came out of the room. I know he has one and I'm and I'm pretty sure she does, but I didn't hear any shots. >> You didn't hear any gunshot? Any idea how exactly it happened? >> Jordan says Britney's screaming, not the gunshot, woke him. He found Tyler on the floor and noticed a pistol nearby. Meanwhile, Britney continues insisting that the most important part of the night is missing from her memory. >> You went to sleep and what happened? >> I went to sleep. >> Okay. And then you woke up. >> I woke up. He's dead. >> Okay. And what did you see? >> Dead. >> Yeah. Just him laying on the floor, bleeding? Okay. >> Is he okay? >> I have no idea what's going on. Okay. Were you Who Who Who is he to you? >> That's my boyfriend. >> That's your boyfriend. Who's that? >> My roommate. >> Your roommate. Okay. >> Britney cannot explain what woke her, whether Tyler was beside her, or how he was shot. Her confusion could be trauma, intoxication, or deception. Investigators do not know yet. Then the hospital provides the update that changes the case. >> Okay. >> Has anyone here told you about your buddy? >> No, they have been I've been asking, but no. >> Sorry to tell you, he passed away. >> Tyler is pronounced dead at Lower Keys Medical Center at 3:46 a.m. The shooting is now a murder investigation. Detectives ask Jordan to reconstruct the night and describe the couple's relationship. >> Were you guys all drinking? >> Yeah. >> How much do you think you guys had? >> I mean, I can't speak for them. I don't think I know Tyler had maybe five or six beers. I probably had a little more cuz that was when I was working on the boat earlier in the day, but I definitely less than five. >> Kind of average >> And her, I have I don't know. >> Is that average for you guys? >> I mean, for me, similar, but for him, no, not as often. >> Okay. How often does he drink? >> That's quite a bit. >> Jordan says the evening appeared normal. Alcohol had caused arguments between Tyler and Brittany before, but Jordan says he had never witnessed Tyler physically attack her. Hours later, Brittany's screams woke him. Tyler was still conscious, but only long enough to say a few words. >> How coherent was he when you first got up? >> Um very very little. He was trying to move a little bit. He just talked a little bit, but it was mostly you could just see it and then he would try to like move his head and his head would just fall back and I could see him try to open his eyes, but it um was definitely not like he couldn't stand up on his own body means or anything like that. >> And where is she? >> She was behind him. Kind of like cradling him. >> So, he was on his back, did she like lift him up to get behind him or was she just >> Yeah. Yep. >> Okay. >> A couple times. And that's when Yeah. I knew it was pretty bad cuz like she kind of was trying to get get him to wake up and he fell and I had his head hit tile like that like nothing hard but like I could tell he wasn't in control of his body that well. >> According to Jordan, Tyler's only meaningful statements were a request to call 911 and an accusation that Brittany shot him. Because Tyler was gravely injured and died shortly afterward, prosecutors could potentially present the statement as a dying declaration. As Jordan reveals this, Brittany's memory begins returning and her account changes completely. >> This point we kind of remembered that you're fighting to survive at this point. You said that it was getting hard to breathe when you were choking you? >> I don't understand why any of this is happening. Like I don't understand why any of this is happening. >> I know. Where were you at? Like still next to the bed? >> I was on the other wall by the window. I think he just kept like he just kept trying to strangle me like over and over again. >> Did you get away and then he grabbed you again over and over again? Did you reach over to the nightstand and grab the gun to scare him? >> I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I would never want to hurt him ever. I I don't know. Like I don't know if I did. I don't remember. I remember holding him. You can continue. >> [gasps] >> I didn't even believe any of this. >> Brittany now claims Tyler repeatedly strangled her and restricted her breathing, but she still cannot explain how she escaped, whether she grabbed the gun, or how Tyler was shot in the back. The detective gives her several opportunities to describe a self-defense sequence. She never provides a complete one. Investigators then compare her story with their physical observations. Investigators reported finding no marks around Brittany's throat and no petechial hemorrhaging in her eyes. Not every strangulation leaves visible injuries, but detectives also found bruising on several knuckles of Brittany's right hand. Prosecutors later emphasized the significant injuries to Tyler's face, head, and neck. They argued that Tyler had been attacked, while Brittany's condition did not support the struggle she described. The location of the gunshot presented another problem. Tyler had been shot in his lower left back. >> Has he never had any violent tendencies in the past? >> Yeah. >> He has? What happened? >> He did that before. >> He did that? How long ago was that? >> Um 5 months ago. >> Okay. Did you call us? >> No. >> Oh. >> He um I was able to just get away from him and go back to bed and he was just he just blocked >> No, I don't >> Brittany alleges that Tyler previously strangled her while intoxicated, although she never reported it. She also continues describing him as a kind person who would not normally hurt anyone. Detectives begin interviewing people who knew the couple to determine whose account the relationship history supports. >> Can you tell me a little bit about the relationship between Tyler and Brittany? >> Um yeah, so I um knew Tyler. I had met him a few years back when I visited Q us. I did not know Brittany very well. Um I had only met her I think [music] one or two previous times um briefly, and it was all close to the date you know that she murdered him, and I had hung out with her um that week. Really close. I think it was within a few days of the incident happening. >> Uh-huh. >> The witness claims an intoxicated Brittany described a violent fantasy about killing an ex-boyfriend. The statement was not about Tyler and did not prove she planned his death. But the witness also describes Brittany jumping on Tyler, insulting him, and striking him. According to her, Tyler treated the behavior as something he had experienced before. Prosecutors used this testimony to challenge Brittany's portrayal of herself as the victim in the relationship. >> Then what? How I mean, how does this end regardless? Like, do I go and sit in jail? >> Well, we have to do our investigation and find out who did this to him. >> Yeah. >> Um But I'm going to be 100% honest with you because at this point it looks like you did. >> Yeah. Well, I think we all got got that part. So then what? Like, I sit in jail awaiting a trial for murder? >> Well, if you Since if you can tell exactly what happened leading up to maybe there's something that we could do for you. Like, maybe we could talk to someone for you. >> Brittany is arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a firearm. Her defense maintains that Tyler attacked her and that she acted in self-defense. Prosecutors rely on Tyler's reported final words, Brittany's changing accounts, the physical evidence, and the location of the gunshot wound. In February 2025, the case goes before a jury. On February 24th, 2025, Brittany Nicole Holbrook is convicted of second-degree murder with a firearm. The jury deliberates for less than 1 hour, rejecting her self-defense argument. On April 11th, she receives 40 years in Florida State Prison. The first 25 years cannot be reduced through earned gain time. The case was built on cumulative evidence. Tyler's reported identification of Brittany, the gunshot wound to his back, her changing account, the absence of injuries supporting repeated strangulation, and evidence indicating that Tyler had been physically attacked. Tyler Kinnunen Newlish was remembered for his love of fishing, nature, and his dog. His final moments were reduced to only a few words, a request to call 911, and a statement identifying the person he believed had shot him. Brittany claimed that the shooting itself was missing from her memory, but Tyler remained conscious long enough to leave behind an account of his own, and the jury believed him.