October 18, 2022
(McKinney, Texas) – Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis announced that Blake Richards, 30, of Plano, Texas was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted by a jury for Capital Murder. “It’s hard to imagine a worse or more tragic response to your mother’s passing than to kill your own sister and her boyfriend over who will get the insurance proceeds from your mother’s death, but that’s what he did. His murderous actions not only permanently altered the lives of his family and those who loved his sister, Brittany, but the loved ones of Mr. Escalante as well. May this jury’s verdict give a measure of peace to these families,” said Willis after sentencing.
On the evening of October 27, 2021, the Richardson Police Department received a call from a man stating that his best friend, Blake Richards, called him and confessed to killing his sister and her boyfriend. A Richardson police officer contacted Richards on the phone, wherein he confessed that he had “hurt” his sister and stated that he was in the parking lot of Target in Wylie. Richardson police officers responded to Target, detained Richards, and located a loaded rifle in his car.
Richardson and Plano officers then responded to the house in Plano where Richards lived with the victims. Officers found the bodies of Brittany Richards and Ross Escalante in the dining room, having died from apparent gunshot wounds. A search of the home revealed an empty handgun on the dining room table and shell casings surrounding the bodies, as well as a bullet proof vest, drug paraphernalia, and books on the topics of booby-trapping and sniper training in Richards’ bedroom. Firearms testing revealed that the rifle in Richards’ vehicle and the handgun on the table were the two murder weapons. DNA testing confirmed Richards’ DNA was present on both firearms.
Plano Police Department Detective Justin Duffy investigated the case. Witness interviews and cell phone extractions revealed that Blake and Brittany’s mother had recently passed away, and that they had been arguing for weeks about a life insurance policy.
A jury found Richards guilty of Capital Murder.
Judge Andrea Thompson presided over the case and assessed the automatic punishment of life without the possibility of parole.
Assistant District Attorneys Luke Calhoun and Geeta Singletary prosecuted the case, assisted by Investigator Michael Coleman and Victim Assistance Coordinators Niccole Frazier, Ruth Ruiz, and Shaunette Bronson.
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