Daddy’s Girl: Groomed to Kill

Daddy’s Girl: The Teen Murder Case That Began With a Father’s Lie

A California true-crime case of manipulation, money, and a child persuaded to kill for her father

In March 1985, police in Garden Grove, California responded to what looked like a tragic domestic crime scene: a young woman shot to death in her bed and a 14-year-old girl found barely alive outside, collapsed from a drug overdose and clutching a confession note.

At first glance, it appeared to be a murder-suicide attempt by a troubled teenager.

It wasn’t.

What investigators would uncover instead was one of the most disturbing parent-child manipulation cases of the decade — a calculated murder-for-profit scheme in which a father persuaded his own daughter to pull the trigger.

This is the case of Cinnamon Brown.



David Brown was a successful computer entrepreneur — intelligent, persuasive, and by most outward appearances, respectable. But behind closed doors, prosecutors later argued, he was controlling, deceptive, and financially motivated. By the mid-1980s he had been married multiple times and had taken out large life-insurance policies on his newest wife, Linda Brown, who was only 23 years old.

Those policies would later become the centerpiece of the prosecution’s theory: Linda was worth more to him dead than alive.

Instead of committing the crime himself, David allegedly began working on someone far more vulnerable — his teenage daughter.

According to court records and later testimony, David slowly conditioned Cinnamon to believe her stepmother was dangerous and plotting to kill him. He told her she was the only one who could protect him. He warned her time was running out. Most critically, he reassured her that because she was only 14, she wouldn’t go to prison — at worst, he said, she would see a psychiatrist.

The fear was manufactured. The urgency was false. But to a child who trusted her father, it felt real.



On March 19, 1985, Cinnamon entered her stepmother’s bedroom while she slept and shot her.

The next steps were already planned. The scene was staged to resemble a murder-suicide attempt. A note was prepared. Cinnamon was given prescription medication and instructed to take it. When police arrived, they found her outside near a doghouse, barely conscious from the overdose, exactly where she had been told to position herself.

Initially, the story held. A teenager had confessed. The case looked closed.

But cracks began forming almost immediately.

Investigators questioned the insurance policies. They questioned the timeline. They questioned David Brown’s behavior — especially how quickly he moved on financially and personally while his daughter sat in custody. He collected substantial insurance proceeds and continued living comfortably.

Then came the turning point: over time, Cinnamon began to understand she had been manipulated. As she grew older in custody, she started cooperating with authorities and describing how her father had coached, pressured, and reassured her step by step.

The case shifted from a teen homicide to a conspiracy investigation.



Prosecutors later revealed even more alarming allegations: David Brown had attempted to arrange violence against potential witnesses, including efforts to silence the prosecutor and even his own daughter to prevent damaging testimony.

In 1990, he was convicted of first-degree murder for financial gain and conspiracy. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and died behind bars in 2014.

The fallout didn’t end there. Linda Brown’s younger sister, Patricia Bailey — who later married David — was also implicated and pleaded guilty to murder-related charges. Prosecutors argued she too had been drawn into David’s manipulative orbit.

Meanwhile, Cinnamon served roughly seven years in youth custody before being paroled. Many involved in the later proceedings acknowledged she had been a minor under severe psychological influence — both responsible for her actions and deeply exploited.



The case later inspired a bestselling true-crime book and a television movie, bringing national attention to the darker question underneath the headlines:

When a child commits murder under a parent’s direction, who is the true killer?

The Cinnamon Brown case is still studied today in discussions of coercive control, grooming, and juvenile culpability. It stands as a reminder that manipulation doesn’t always look violent at first — sometimes it sounds like love, protection, and trust.

Until it’s too late.



Case Facts:

Crime date: March 19, 1985

Location: Garden Grove, California

Victim: Linda Brown, age 23

Shooter: Cinnamon Brown, age 14

Mastermind: David Brown (father)

Motive: Life-insurance payout

Father’s sentence: Life without parole

Cultural adaptations: If You Really Loved Me (book), Love, Lies and Murder (TV movie)