A Wahiawa couple indicted Wednesday for the murder of their 10-year-old foster child, Geanna Bradley, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted because the murder was “especially
heinous, atrocious or cruel,” according to a 61-page
indictment.
An Oahu grand jury indicted Brandy Blas, 35, and Thomas Blas Sr., 41, along with Debra Geron, 67, Brandy Blas’ mother.
The charges include misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a minor for the treatment of the couple’s 4-year-old adopted son from Oct. 7, 2019, to
Jan. 18.
Geron also could get life without the possibility of
parole.
Brandy Blas was indicted on 10 charges: Second-degree murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, criminal conspiracy to commit first-degree unlawful imprisonment, first-degree endangering the welfare
of a minor, first-degree hindering prosecution, second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and two counts of persistent
nonsupport.
Thomas Blas was indicted on all those charges, except for hindering
prosecution.
Geron is charged with
second-degree murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping,
first-degree unlawful
imprisonment, criminal
conspiracy to commit
first-degree unlawful imprisonment and first-degree hindering prosecution.
The three were arrested and charged Friday and continue to be held without bail.
The lifeless body of Geanna Bradley was found in the Blases’ Wahiawa home Jan. 18, after paramedics responded to a 911 call from their 33 Karsten St. home. She was emaciated, had broken teeth, open sores and the bridge of her nose had a large fracture.
The Medical Examiner’s Office found she died of “multiple effects of prolonged child abuse and neglect” and “starvation, blunt force injuries due to multiple assaults, prolonged physical restraint and immobilization, pneumonia and medical neglect.”
The grand jury charged the couple and Geron with second-degree murder for allegedly inflicting injury on Bradley on or about Jan. 16 to Jan. 18 that caused her death and for failing to get help from law enforcement or medical personnel for her.
The Blases have four biological children, and Brandy Blas is pregnant with a fifth child, a source close to her confirmed. The couple, the six children and Brandy Blas’ parents were living in an 837-square-foot home.
They were receiving $1,961 a month from the state to care for Bradley, had an ample food supply, and texts showed their plans to buy food and eat at
restaurants.
The indictment cites state law which would subject
the Blases and Geron to extended-term sentencing where the murder was “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity,” meaning a crime that is “conscienceless or pitless, which is unnecessarily torturous to a victim,” it says. They are also subject to extended sentencing for being offenders of two or more crimes and for the protection of the public.
The three are charged with kidnapping for restraining Bradley from May 9 to Jan. 18 with the intent to terrorize and/or inflict bodily injury, and conspiring with one another to commit the kidnapping from Oct. 1, 2022, to Jan. 18.
In October 2022, the couple withdrew Bradley from Iliahi Elementary School, allegedly under the guise of homeschooling her, over the objections of her third-grade teacher and counselor.
The indictment says texts between Brandy Blas and her mother from May 9 to Jan. 18 allegedly refer to how they would deny Bradley food and water, tie her up and confine her to a small structure, watch and communicate with her using a surveillance monitor and punish her with physical force. They had her defecate in a bucket, and would feed her nearly expired food.
They threatened and used physical violence for talking or making noises, hid her by putting a box over her head if workers came to the house, and had her sleep in a box.
On July 15-16, 2023, Brandy Blas and Geron’s cellphones showed surveillance images of Bradley, arms and torso bound with duct tape to her sides and her hands behind her.
A black covering was duct-taped over her eyes, forehead and head. Apparent injuries are visible on her shoulders and lower face.
Texts from May 9 to
Jan. 18 show their instructions to Thomas Blas to ignore Bradley, clean her toilet, and put her hands a certain way.
He appeared Oct. 10, 2018, to Jan. 18 on Zoom therapy sessions with Bradley’s psychiatrist when Brandy Blas could not attend, and at times appeared without Bradley. But the girl “appears to have never attended a session alone.”
A Jan. 16 text shows a photo of Bradley standing in a 7-foot by 3-foot structure where she was kept, her head duct taped, facing the ground.
On the early morning of Jan. 18, the Blases and Geron did not immediately notify police and emergency services when they found the girl unresponsive.
They failed to tell emergency responders Bradley was kept bound in a small room.
After police arrived, Geron had apparently deleted all the photos and texts between her and Brandy Blas, who deleted all texts between them from Jan. 22 and Jan. 24.
The three co-conspirators and three of the Blases’ biological children told the same story from Jan. 18 to Jan. 22 that Bradley suffered from behavioral issues, but was treated well, the same as the other children, and was very active, slept, ate and played normally with other children.
“The allegations of abuse and neglect in this case are sickening and difficult to fathom,” said Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm. “Evidence gathered by police shows the defendants denied this little girl the food she needed to survive. They allegedly bound her with duct tape, beat her, failed to get medical attention for her wounds, and ultimately killed her. All of this is alleged to have happened while they collected nearly $2,000 a month to care for her.”
