Brandon Diaz

Name:
Diaz, Brandon Cristian

Date of Booking:
01/07/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
Murder

Aggravated Assault

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On Wednesday, January 7th, 2026, at approximately 0716 hours, I, Ofc Whilden, was dispatched to [100 BLOCK] Kay Drive in reference to a welfare check.

While enroute, I made contact by phone with the complainant, Ms. [WITNESS #1]. Ms. [WITNESS #1] advised she was concerned about her nephew, Brandon Diaz, who lived at [100 BLOCK] Kay Drive. Ms. [WITNESS #1] stated hours prior, Mr. Diaz had texted family members (unknown who he texted) and was saying crazy and out of the ordinary thing, as well as having mentioned being suicidal. Mr. Diaz then failed to respond for multiple hours, which prompted the welfare check.

I arrived first and noticed several odd things. I noticed two vehicles in the driveway, a brown Volkswagen Jetta, and a red Hyundai Tucson, which indicated possibly multiple adults on scene. The trunk of the Tucson was open, as well as the driver’s side rear door being ajar. In the vehicle there were multiple trash bags filled with clothes. There was a child’s bicycle in the front yard, which indicated the possibility of a child on scene.

I first looked through the garage window and then went to the front door of the residence. The walkway to the front door had plant overgrowth on the sides, and the steps leading to the front door were covered in leaves. At the front door, I observed the door handles on the glass storm doors had been broken off of the door. The door handles being broken off indicated to me that the occupants of the residence likely had not been using this as their primary point of entry into the house. I was able to open the storm door, ring the doorbell, and knock on the wooden front door. I heard no response, no movement, and had no immediate indication someone was inside. The front door was locked as well.

I then went to the driveway entry door on the south side of the house. This door was less approximately 30 feet from where the vehicle was parked. Based on the proximity to the vehicles, and the condition of the path to the front door, I determined the garage side door was likely the common entry point to the residence. I then discovered the door was open. From there, I entered the garage and found the interior door was unsecured.

At that point, based on the statements from Ms. [WITNESS #1] indicating Brandon Diaz was inside and possibly suicidal, as well as the possibility of other innocent people being inside, I believed it was possible someone inside was seriously injured or deceased inside. I decided to make entry into the residence to check welfare on all the occupants. Ofc. Hess and I gave loud verbal announcements from the threshold and identified ourselves as police, while calling to Mr. Diaz by name. After several announcements, Ofc. Hess and I made entry into the residence.

The first room we entered was the kitchen. The kitchen had household items on the floor. Off of the kitchen, to my left was a dining room. Ofc. Hess cleared the dining room before returning to the kitchen. On the opposite wall from the door we entered through, was another threshold into the living room area. I went through the doorway and found the room opened up to my right. When I looked into the room, I observed a human body lying on the floor.

My initial observation was that the individual appeared female based on the hair length. The female was completely still and lying on her back, covered in a white towel. The towel and the floor around her were covered in blood. I made a quick determination that the female was beyond saving and did not go any further into the residence.

At that point, the residence became a crime scene. There was a dead person, who I did not believe to be the individual I was sent to check on. Additionally, it was highly likely there was a suspect still in the residence. In all my training and experience as a law enforcement officer, I had never seen someone covered up posthumously after committing suicide. I believed it was likely the suspect was still armed, so Ofc. Hess and I backed out of the residence and waited for additional officers.

Once officers were on scene, a protective sweep of the residence was conducted to find anyone else still in the residence, to includea potential murder suspect.

We then made entry for the second time the same manner as the first. Once in the living room again, I observed multiple empty or partially empty liquor bottles, and prescription drug containers. There was a trail of blood leading from the body of the victim to the bedroom in the northeast corner of the residence. There were multiple large blood stains on the carpet and blood spatter on the wall.

Lieutenant Bish entered the room first and discovered a white male subject lying in the bed, underneath the blanket. The male was completely unresponsive to stimuli such as a sternum rub and light in his eyes. He was breathing and had a pulse.

The male, later identified as Mr. Brandon Diaz, was secured in handcuffs, behind his back. the handcuffs were checked for fit and double locked. Mr. Diaz was placed in a recovery position until Warner Robins Fire Department Personnel and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] EMS personnel were on scene.

I observed blood on the bottom of Mr. Diaz’s feet, although he did not appear to have any open wounds. There was a small amount of blood on Mr. Diaz’s left ear, as well as a small amount of an unidentified white residue around one of his nostrils. Mr. Diaz was carried out of the residence and then transported by ambulance to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] Warner Robins. At the hospital, I was relieved by Detective Brankley and Detective Chambers.

[End of Narrative]