MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ind. – Authorities in Montgomery County released the chilling 911 call from the mother who is accused of killing her two young children.
Brandi Worley called dispatchers on November 17 at 4:33 a.m. In the 911 call, Worley tells the dispatcher in a very calm voice, “I just stabbed myself and I killed my two children.”
When the dispatcher asks Worley what caused her to do that, she says, “My husband wanted a divorce and wanted to take my kids. And I don’t want him to have my kids.”
The dispatcher proceeds to ask Worley where she stabbed herself, and she tells him in the neck and there’s blood everywhere.
The dispatcher asks Worley how she’s feeling, and she tells him tired because she took a lot of Benadryl.
A few minutes later, Worley’s mother arrived at the home, and Worley hands the phone to her.
The dispatcher asks her to go into the children’s bedroom and see if Worley was telling the truth about killing her two kids. Worley’s mother is hysterical after making the discovery.
She stays on the phone with the dispatcher for about 10 more minutes, repeating phrases like “my babies” and “I don’t know, I just don’t know.”
CBS4 is choosing not to air that portion of the audio because we feel that it is too emotional and does not add to the story.
The Montgomery County 911 dispatcher is remarkably collected during the disturbing call, staying on the phone for 15 minutes and asking questions, trying to get help to everyone in the home and ensure first responders on the way to the scene will be safe.
Barry Ritter, Executive Director of Indiana 911, said that the state has just recently begun to offer stress resilience training to dispatchers, as well as beefed up mental health services.
“Telecommunicators are often the overlooked part of public safety. We like to say they are the first of first responders,” Ritter said. “There are some studies that indicate that telecommunicators do have tendencies to suffer with PTSD and that’s relatively new in the 911 centers.”
Traditionally, 911 centers have been run by local counties, and each is different in what it offers for training and mental health counseling.
Since 2012, however, the state’s 911 board has started to do more to streamline what happens in its dispatch centers. It’s currently working to establish minimum training standards.
Montgomery County’s 911 center director told CBS4 that her 13 dispatchers receive training both in-house and online, including training on emotional and mental aspects of the job. Counseling was offered to first responders after the Worley case.
“These telecommunicators are professionals, they do a great job every day,” Ritter said. “They do a phenomenal job in the area of public safety and they’re that unseen hero in first responders.”
Worley is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of her 7-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. She pleaded not guilty to these charges today. She is currently in the Montgomery County Jail without bail.