Jury selected and trial begins for Haynes

By Leesa Teale, 

LPR Publisher

    Amidst a crowded courtroom, jury selection began on Monday and completed on Tuesday just before 1 p.m.  for the trial of Brian Robert Haynes. After the jury was confirmed at approximately 2 p.m. the trial began for the capital murder case that happened almost 5 years ago. 

   On June 11, 2020, Haynes was charged with Capital Murder of Multiple Persons for his part in the shooting deaths of 18-year-old Klayton Manning and his 16-year-old cousin Landon Robinson. The two were found dead in  a rural area of Caldwell County in the 4400 block of Tenny Creek Road. 

    On June 9, 2020, Manning and Robinson reportedly were investigating signs of smoke when they happened upon an individual, later identified as Haynes, who opened fire on the young men, killing both.

    Haynes then drove to his brother’s home in Austin where he stated he was being chased by aliens and confessed to shooting at them. Haynes stated he shot multiple times as the “aliens” who would not die. 

     Haynes claimed that he had shot the “aliens” with his gun, emptying out a pair of 17-round magazines and a pair of 10-round magazines. 

     The Caldwell County Sheriff Department found 50, 9 mm cartridge casings at the crime scene.  

     In September 2024, Haynes, now 38 years old, was found, by a Caldwell County jury in Lockhart, competent to stand trial for the 2020 shooting deaths of the volunteer firefighter and his cousin near Luling. 

      Caldwell County District Attorney Fred Weber confirmed experts from both the prosecution and defense presented testimony to a jury about whether Haynes had the mental capacity to assist in his defense.

      After three days of testimony, a jury of seven men and five women took two hours to determine Haynes could understand the severity of charges he was facing and that he has the mental capacity to assist in his own defense.

     Haynes remains in the Caldwell County Jail in lieu of bond on capital murder charges after being arrested at a home in Bastrop County in 2020.

    Watch for further updates as the trial continues on www.post-register.com.