Tennessee – In a deeply disturbing case in Tennessee, a 28-year-old man, identified as B. Isabelle, stands accused of orchestrating the cold-blooded murders of his 1-day-old daughter and the child’s 27-year-old mother, identified as D. Hoyle, crimes prosecutors say he committed simply because he didn’t want them interfering with his new romantic relationship. The alleged actions, described in graphic detail by prosecutors, point to premeditation and cruelty in what has become one of the state’s most horrifying homicide trials in recent memory.
Isabelle faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse or neglect, and aggravated kidnapping in the deaths of Hoyle and their 1-day-old daughter. Despite the weight of the accusations and a trail of forensic evidence, Isabelle has entered a not guilty plea. According to prosecutors, Isabelle wanted Hoyle and their infant daughter “out of the picture” because the woman he was currently involved with—someone he had met after a brief relationship with Hoyle—had made it clear she didn’t want to raise someone else’s child or deal with another “baby mama.” Determined to keep that new relationship alive, Isabelle allegedly carried out a calculated, two-part murder.
The timeline begins on January 30, 2022, when Isabelle visited Hoyle in the hospital after learning she had gone into labor. While with her, he was also texting his new girlfriend, trying to salvage their rocky relationship. At the very hour that his baby daughter was born, Isabelle was pleading with this other woman not to end things. By February 1, Hoyle and her newborn had returned home and introduced the baby to family. That same day Isabelle reached out to Hoyle and offered to bring baby clothes. She agreed to meet him at a gas station. But Isabelle reportedly had no intention of handing over clothing.
After Hoyle arrived with the newborn in the backseat, Isabelle allegedly persuaded her to drive to a more isolated road. Once she stopped the vehicle, prosecutors say he opened the passenger door and fired five shots into the car, striking Hoyle in the head and face. He then dragged her body into a ditch so dark that only her pink shoes were visible. With the 1-day-old girl still in the backseat, Isabelle placed her—still strapped into her car seat—into his own car and drove off. But prosecutors say he had “one more problem to take care of.”
After returning home to change his clothes, Isabelle drove to the riverfront peninsula, where he was seen on surveillance. There, he removed the infant from her seat, grabbed her by the leg, and threw her into the freezing waters of the river. Her tiny cap was later discovered on the bank. After the killings, Isabelle went to a store to buy gifts for his girlfriend, sent text messages to Hoyle knowing she was dead, and even dumped the car seat at another store, where it was later recovered by a Good Samaritan.
Police began investigating when an officer ran Hoyle’s plates during routine patrol and learned she was missing. He returned to the scene and discovered her body but found no trace of the child. The newborn baby’s body was never found. However, forensic analysis revealed Hoyle’s blood on Isabelle’s socks, and Isabelle eventually told police he had also thrown the murder weapon into the river.
As the trial continues, prosecutor A. Carpenter told jurors they will see the full weight of evidence—from surveillance footage to witness statements to DNA. “Once you’ve heard all the evidence… the state will ask that you find the defendant guilty of each and every count.” Hoyle’s mother remains devastated. “I want him to suffer like he made my baby suffer,” she said. “He needs to suffer. Why would you hurt a baby?”
As the courtroom proceedings unfold, the weight of what was lost hangs heavy—two lives, one barely begun, the other cut short in betrayal and violence. The prosecution continues to build its case with chilling precision, laying bare a story of calculated cruelty fueled by selfish desire. Meanwhile, a grieving mother and a community search for meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding. Whether justice will be served remains in the hands of the jury, but for those left behind, no verdict can undo the horrors of that night or bring back the innocence that was so callously erased.
