A Massachusetts man who killed his girlfriend’s jilted ex-lover when he broke into the couple’s home during a violent home invasion breathed a sigh of relief when he was acquitted of manslaughter.
Brian Camp, 24, was charged in the death of Johnathan Letendre, 27, on Dec. 27, 2022, after Letendre broke into the home Camp shared with girlfriend Brooke Janik, where the couple’s two children were sleeping.
Camp testified at his trial that Letendre attacked him while he was naked in bed and sleeping, and he fought the intruder for about 10 minutes before shooting him because he feared for his and his family’s lives.
The home invasion happened after Camp and his girlfriend broke up earlier in 2022, and Janik briefly dated Letendre before ending things to get back together with Camp.
Janik testified that he took it badly, and the court was shown text messages that showed Letendre becoming increasingly unhinged and angry with her for rejoining Camp.
When Camp stood up in his own defense, he said that if he ever behaved the way Letendre did that night, “I hope someone would let me down.”
At the end of his trial on Monday, jurors ruled that Camp acted in self-defense and acquitted him of voluntary manslaughter.
Brian Camp, 24, testifying in his own defense, was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter on Monday, two years after he shot his girlfriend’s ex in a violent home invasion
The home invasion came after Camp and his girlfriend Brooke Janik split earlier in 2022, and Janik briefly dated home invader Johnathan Letendre before ending things to get back together with Camp – the father of her two children (together in the photo)
The court heard how Johnathan Letendre, 27, was furious with Janik for breaking off their brief relationship with Camp and broke into their home on the night of December 27, 2022, to attack him.
Most of the trial revolved around a twenty-minute call Janik made to 911 the night of the shooting, recording audio of the fighting between Camp and Letendre before the home intruder was shot dead.
During the call, a hysterical Janik told dispatchers that the two men were fighting and wrestling with a shotgun before an initial gunshot was heard as Letendre was shot in the stomach.
About eight minutes later, while Janik was still on the phone, a second shot was heard.
Camp claimed Letendre still posed a threat and tried to fight while bleeding on the ground, while prosecutors argued the second shot was “unnecessary” and “more force than was reasonably necessary to defend himself.”
Prosecutors added in their opening statements that Camp’s first shot “clearly” fell within the legal limits of self-defense, and that the crux of the case rested on the second shot.
Camp’s defense also brought up that Camp was at a significant physical disadvantage in the fight, as Letendre was 6 feet tall and weighed 190 pounds, while Camp was 6 feet tall and 145 pounds.
The father of two testified that he and Letendre struggled inside the house with a shotgun before he eventually shot him with a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol.
Most of the trial revolved around a twenty-minute call from Janik (pictured) to 911 the night of the shooting, which included audio recording of the fighting between Camp and Letendre before the home intruder was shot dead.
The court saw text messages that showed Letendre was increasingly upset about the breakup
Prosecutor Steven Gagne argued that Letendre was no longer a threat and had been neutralized by the first shot to the stomach, and Camp was motivated by anger toward his girlfriend’s ex in the heat of the moment.
Gagne and the district attorney’s office faced charges against Camp because his supporters said he was protecting his family. At the end of the trial he admitted that he had the Daily Hampshire Gazette: ‘We knew from the start that it would be a difficult matter.’
“Nevertheless, we felt it was the right thing to do,” he added, in filing charges against Camp.
The case also revolved around the police interview Camp gave hours after the shooting, in which he told investigators he fired “one, maybe two” shots at Letendre.
Prosecutors alleged that the interview revealed inconsistencies in his story because it suggested the shots were fired consecutively, rather than the eight-minute gap between the first and fatal shots.
The case also revolved around footage (photo) of the police interview Camp gave hours after the shooting, in which he told investigators he fired “one, maybe two” shots at Letendre.
Under cross-examination by Gagne, Camp countered that he had given the report to police while he was still processing the traumatic events and that his memory was blurred.
Footage of the interview also showed moments when Camp struggled to piece together the events of the fateful night.
“I had a hard time processing what had just happened,” he testified. “My mental state was hazy and mixed up at best.”
After Camp first shot Letendre, he reportedly called his boss, who his defense called more of a “father figure.”
The boss ordered him to take pictures of the scene with his phone as evidence to support his case. One image shown in court after the first shot showed Letendre in a different position than when police arrived, proving Letendre was moving around the room between shots.
“Thank God Brian Camp was a self-employed evidence collector for a few minutes,” Camp’s attorney Tom Kokonowski said in his closing argument.
Camp pictured next to his attorney Tom Kokonowski as the jury returned a not guilty verdict, breathing a sigh of relief as his loved ones cheered from the gallery
Had he been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, Camp could have faced up to 20 years in prison.
But the jury acquitted him, with footage of the moment showing cheers and sighs of relief from the gallery as Camp’s family celebrated.
Gagne said he was “disappointed” in the verdict, but admitted he saw the jury’s perspective. “A lot of them probably thought, ‘What would I do in that situation?’ he asked.
In a Facebook post after the trial, Janik said her family can “finally begin what life will be a lifelong healing process,” describing Camp’s two-year ordeal since the shooting as “immensely painful.”
She shared one GoFundMe to help pay Camp’s mounting legal fees, saying the lawsuit and legal ordeal had drained her young family’s finances.