Left inset: Devin Joel (Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Kacy Joel (KAKE). Background: Police at the Kansas home of Kacy Joel after she was murdered by her son Devin Joel (KAKE/YouTube).
A Kansas man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his mother, which he shockingly documented on social media. Devin Joel, 24, was convicted of beating his mother, Kacy Joel, to death with a “landscaping brick” while urging her to “stay down,” as detailed in court records.
After the 2023 killing, Joel reportedly confessed to a neighbor, saying, “I’m a killer,” according to a probable cause affidavit. He received his life sentence in Sedgwick County and will be eligible for parole after 25 years, having been found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated robbery.
During the sentencing, Joel’s sister addressed the court, sharing the profound emotional impact of her brother’s crime. She expressed her anguish over their mother’s fear and helplessness during the attack, saying, “I constantly cry about how terrified she must have been.”
Her statement, as reported by local CBS affiliate KWCH, highlighted her mother’s heartbreak and confusion, wondering why her son, whom she had raised and loved, would commit such violence against her.
The incident occurred on May 30, 2023, when police responded to a 911 call from Devin Joel, who admitted, “I tried to kill my mom and that he was beating her head with a brick,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit further reveals that during the 911 call, dispatchers heard Joel telling his mother to “stay down,” along with the sounds of her cries and screams. Joel also mentioned that his mother was still breathing and that he intended to inflict further harm.
Devin Joel later said that his mom was “brain dead, paralyzed, had stopped breathing and was dead.” He also reported that he was armed with a knife and threatened to attack officers when they arrived.
Devin Joel fled from the home after the slaying and went to a nearby residence, where he barged in through the front door. He had “blood on his face and was holding a knife,” according to the affidavit.
Devin Joel made the comment about being “a killer” before darting out of the resident’s home. He also visited a local business with the knife but left without incident.
Officers arrested Devin Joel, who was “covered in blood,” after seeing him running in the area, the affidavit says. “He said he had stabbed his mother and that the blood on him was not his,” according to police. “While Devin was saying this, he appeared calm and was even smiling while discussing stabbing his mother.”
When police went to Kacy Joel’s home, they found the 46-year-old in the backyard in a large pool of blood, on a concrete patio. A portion of her skull with hair attached was “among the blood,” along with “two human teeth.” The landscaping brick that Devin Joel used was broken in two and nearby, with footprints and handprints visible in the blood.
Kacy Joel was transported to a local hospital and medical staff “worked on her” before she eventually died. Devin Joel’s sister later spoke with police investigators and told them that he called her after the murder over FaceTime and “asked if she wanted to see her mother,” according to the affidavit.
“When she said she did, Devin turned the video to show their mother on the ground in a large pool of blood and obviously injured,” the affidavit says. “She later observed a video posted to her mother’s Snapchat account [showing] Devin and then their mother on the ground in a pool of blood.”
According to police, Devin Joel took selfie videos with his mother in which he appeared to be talking into the camera, but there was no audio. “His face is covered in blood [on the video],” the affidavit notes.
Joel’s family told police that he was having mental issues leading up to his mother’s murder that included “violent and angry hallucinations and general odd behavior.” He was found competent to stand trial before entering a guilty plea last year.
