Background: News footage of James Barnes-Morris in court for his plea hearing on Dec. 29 (WMTV). Inset: Brooke Strattan (Madison Police Department).
James Barnes-Morris, aged 26, entered a guilty plea for first-degree reckless homicide on Monday, acknowledging his role in the death of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Brooke Strattan, during the autumn of 2024. According to previous reports by Law&Crime, Barnes-Morris was the last known person to be with Strattan on the morning of September 30, 2024. Her body was discovered in a retention pond several days afterwards.
Court records revealed that the couple had an argument in front of several friends shortly before Strattan disappeared. She left with another male friend, voicing concerns that Barnes-Morris “was genuinely going to kill her.”
According to a search warrant filed at the time of his arrest, investigators reported that Barnes-Morris appeared at a friend’s residence hours after he was last seen with Strattan. He allegedly told the friend, “I had to get rid of her,” mentioned needing “more bricks and rope,” and complained that “the weeds made it hard.” The friend also noted that Barnes-Morris was wet and had bloody scratches on his legs.
On October 3, 2024, the same day Strattan’s body was discovered, Barnes-Morris was found hiding in the basement of a friend’s home. He was in possession of Strattan’s phone and credit cards.
Barnes-Morris was found hiding in a friend’s basement on Oct. 3, 2024, the day Strattan’s body was found. He had her phone and credit cards.
The Dane County District Attorney’s Office charged Barnes-Morris with first-degree intentional homicide with a domestic abuse modifier and first-degree reckless homicide with a domestic abuse modifier. The intentional homicide charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. Local NBC affiliate WMTV reported that Barnes-Morris faces up to 60 years in prison at sentencing.
