A Cincinnati man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after admitting to one of the city’s most horrific crimes in recent memory. On September 10, 2025, 25-year-old Desean Brown pleaded guilty to murdering his ex-girlfriend, 29-year-old Nyteisha Lattimore, and her 3-year-old son, Nylo. The plea deal spared him from the death penalty but ensures he will never be released.
The case first came to light in December 2020. Prosecutors say Brown stabbed Lattimore 11 times in the neck inside her Walnut Hills apartment. He then kept her body hidden in the apartment for several days, during which blood from the crime scene seeped into the unit below. Instead of alerting authorities, Brown searched online for ways to clean up blood.
The next day, December 6, he turned his violence toward Nylo. Brown took the little boy and his stroller to the Purple People Bridge, which stretches across the Ohio River. There, he threw Nylo, still alive, into the freezing water. Despite months of searching, the child’s body was never found.
Days later, Brown purchased a body bag on eBay and arranged for an Uber to take him and Lattimore’s remains back to the same bridge. He tried to throw her body into the river, but it became caught on a ledge. A security guard found the bag on December 12, leading investigators to Brown.
Prosecutors believe Brown’s motive stemmed from anger over a miscarriage Lattimore had suffered. He reportedly blamed her for losing what he believed would have been his child. Witnesses told authorities that he had openly discussed plans to kill both Lattimore and Nylo. On the day of the murder, Brown even used Lattimore’s phone to post a message on Facebook saying, “I love him forever Desean Brown,” in an attempt to cover his tracks.
The case dragged on for years, partly due to Brown’s attempts to avoid trial. Psychologists testified that he tried to fake symptoms of mental illness, but two separate evaluations determined he was competent to stand trial.
The killings shook the community, and emotions boiled over in June 2022 when Nylo’s father, Tonio Hughes, attacked Brown in the courtroom during a pretrial hearing.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich described Brown’s crimes as “ruthless,” adding that the life sentence brings justice to both Nyteisha and Nylo. “This sentence delivers justice for both Nyteisha and Nylo,” she said in a statement.
The tragedy remains one of Cincinnati’s darkest cases, a story of violence, cover-ups, and a family left broken by unimaginable loss.
