Brandon Stephens, 21, of Dallas, received two life sentences on Monday, April 21st, after pleading guilty to Murder and Aggravated Robbery in connection with the 2022 killing of Stanley Wilcox. Wilcox's body was discovered in a creek near Baylor University's campus on January 6, 2023. Stephens is the third and final individual to be convicted for his role in Wilcox's death.
Stephens entered his guilty pleas just before his second jury trial was scheduled to begin in the 19th District Court, where he had been indicted for Capital Murder. His first trial ended in a hung jury with 11 jurors voting for Capital Murder and one for Murder.
Last week, James Willis, 22, identified as the mastermind and primary actor in Wilcox's murder, was convicted of Capital Murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Because Stephens was not the primary actor, prosecutors offered him the opportunity to plead guilty to the lesser charge of Murder, contingent on a guilty plea to a separate charge of Aggravated Robbery and the imposition of the maximum possible sentences of life in prison for both charges. These two life sentences will run concurrently. While Stephens will be eligible for parole after 30 years, prosecutors believe it is unlikely he will be paroled for a significantly longer period due to the nature of the crime.
A third individual, Alijah Benson, 22, also of Dallas, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Robbery in September 2024 for his involvement. Benson, who provided the gun Willis used, was sentenced to 30 years in prison despite not being physically present during the attack in Waco.
Prosecutors made no plea offers to James Willis.
The case began when Wilcox's family reported him missing after he failed to appear for Christmas celebrations in the Fort Worth area. Initial questioning of Willis, who rented a room in Wilcox's house with his girlfriend Heavyn Hamilton, led nowhere as Willis claimed Wilcox had left before Christmas and denied knowing his whereabouts.
An extensive Waco Police Department investigation revealed a large amount of blood in the trunk of Wilcox's car and additional blood in his house. Cell phone records from Willis, Hamilton, and Stephens, who moved into Wilcox's house after his disappearance, revealed that on December 14, 2022, Willis began texting Stephens in Dallas about a robbery plan, requesting Stephens's presence for backup in case Wilcox resisted. Willis's messages indicated a plan to shoot Wilcox to obtain his ATM pin. Willis also contacted Benson in Dallas to acquire a gun.
Cell phone data and McDonald's security footage from Dallas showed Willis driving Wilcox's car to Dallas on December 22, 2022, picking up Stephens, and then meeting Benson at the McDonald's drive-through where Benson worked. Benson was seen handing Willis a gun wrapped in a bag. Willis and Stephens then drove to Wilcox's home in Waco.
Wilcox's body was found in a creek below a bridge at the intersection of 9th Street and Interstate 35 near Baylor's campus. He had been shot five times. Further investigation revealed that Willis and Stephens returned to the McDonald's after the murder to give the gun back to Benson. Officers later recovered the murder weapon from Benson's home.
The case was investigated by the Waco Police Department, the Dallas Police Fugitive Task Force, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden, and the McLennan County District Attorney's Office. First Assistant District Attorney Ryan Calvert and Assistant District Attorneys Vanessa Fuentes and Dan Stokes prosecuted the three perpetrators.
"Rarely do we encounter crimes this evil," said the prosecuting attorneys in a joint statement. "Our hope is that Stan's family receives some peace in the knowledge that justice was delivered to all of those responsible for this crime. We are grateful for the relentless professionalism shown by the Waco Police Department in this investigation. Their work made our job easy."
