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Son Charged In Stabbing Of Parents

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By RAY REYES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2008

PLANT CITY - Born to parents who valued education, 13-year-old Brandon Nunez strived to always make the honor roll at his middle school, his great-grandmother Betty Chapman said.

In a family that cherished closeness, they would frequently take their seats around a U-shaped desk where the mother, Stephanie Keller, wrote fiction, the father, Edson Nunez, worked on the computer and Brandon and his younger brother, Tristan, busied themselves with games and other activities, Chapman said.

"They are a very close family," Chapman, 79, said. "They did a lot together."

All the more reason why what happened over the weekend to the Nunez clan is unfathomable, she said.

The idyllic portrait of her family was shattered, Chapman said, when she learned Brandon had been arrested, accused by Plant City police of stabbing his parents inside their house, at 3813 Creek Way Court, at 3 a.m. Sunday.

Police said the parents initially tried to cover for their son by saying unknown intruders had stabbed them.

Brandon was charged with two counts of aggravated battery and was being held Monday at Hillsborough County's juvenile assessment center, police said.

Stephanie Keller, 38, was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where she appeared to be recovering. Edson Nunez, 31, was taken to Tampa General Hospital and was expected to be released Monday night, Chapman said.

Tristan, 11, was at home during the attack but was not injured. He is staying with relatives while his parents recover, Chapman said.

Keller and her husband initially told police someone had broken in to their home in a subdivision just south of U.S. 92 and stabbed them for "unknown reasons," police Capt. Darrell Wilson said.

During the investigation, detectives learned Brandon had argued with his parents over the weekend and determined he was the assailant, police said. They did not know the nature of the argument.

Keller and Edson Nunez were stabbed with a kitchen knife, police Sgt. Jim Shultz said. It is unclear how many times they were stabbed but the injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

The investigation is ongoing and detectives on Monday were sifting through the details while relatives were trying to come to grips with their grief and shock, Chapman said.

She described the scene in her household as one of "pure heartache."

"We're all shaking our heads," she said. "Nobody believes it. Nobody understands it. I have no explanation for what could have happened."

Chapman described Brandon as a "very normal" and "extremely intelligent" teenager who attends Tomlin Middle School.

Keller has degrees in art and Spanish from Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. She met Edson Nunez when she was studying in Mexico, Chapman said.

Keller teaches Spanish at Riverview High School. Nunez works for a local computer company, Chapman said.

Dried blood from the attack stained the walkway leading to the front door of the Nunez home Monday afternoon. Chapman said the repercussions of the tragedy may not be so easily scrubbed away.

"The all-American family has hit a stone wall," she said. "It's so sad. It's really just heartbreaking."

Tribune researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this report. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at rreyes@tampatrib.com or (813) 865-4433.

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