Colby Brookman Case: From Tragedy to Transformation or Just a Performance? – Prison Bio Breakdown Ep 3

Timeline of the Colby Brookman Case

On Easter Sunday 2020, Colby Brookman drove a 2004 GMC Sierra that flew off the road in Oroville, California, launching over a levee and plunging into the frigid, 32-foot-deep Thermalito Dam canal. In the truck were six people. Only three made it out alive.

The man behind the wheel, Colby Allen Brookman, now 32 and incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison, is serving 37 years to life. The crash killed his two infant daughters, Arianna and Ava, and his brother-in-law, Matthew Stothers, a 32-year-old autistic man with a deep fear of water.

Now, Brookman is reintroducing himself to the world through glowing prison pen pal bios. He says he’s sober, studying business, ready to start a mechanic shop for struggling single moms, and deeply remorseful.

But is he? Or is this just a carefully crafted campaign to angle for parole?

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The Fatal Crash That Changed Everything

April 12, 2020. Oroville, CA. It was Easter Sunday. Colby Brookman had been drinking beers throughout the day despite warnings not to drive. Around 7 PM, he loaded his wife J’lynne, their daughters (17-month-old Arianna and 7-month-old Ava), and J’lynne’s brother Matthew Stothers into his truck.

Matthew, who was autistic, terrified of water, and unable to swim, was seated in the backseat between the girls, both strapped into car seats.

Colby didn’t just drive. He sped toward a known dead-end, with black box data later confirming he was doing over 80 mph as the truck launched through a fence, over a levee, and into the deep canal.

Colby and J’lynne escaped the submerged truck and swam to shore.

Matthew surfaced, flailed, and struggled near them. A witness, standing on the levee, saw it all and urged Colby to help. Colby refused.

Matthew sank below the surface. Emergency responders later recovered his body, along with the bodies of Arianna and Ava, who died at the hospital the next morning.

Colby’s blood alcohol level was 0.12% two hours later, well above the legal limit.

Legal Consequences: Fourth Strike and No Remorse

Colby Brookman was charged with three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, in addition to felony DUI. This wasn’t his first run-in with the law. He had three prior felony convictions, including assault with a motor vehicle and grand theft with great bodily injury.

This new conviction marked his fourth strike under California’s Three Strikes Law. In April 2022, he pleaded no contest. On June 16, 2022, he was sentenced to 37 years to life.

At sentencing, prosecutor Ashley Furry made it clear:

Brookman lacks insight, empathy, and accountability. He cannot be fixed. The only person who has ever mattered to him is himself.

Colby interrupted her mid-statement, yelling, “Were you there, bitch?!”

Even Judge Corie Caraway echoed concerns about his lack of remorse:

I share Ms. Furry and the family’s concern that you don’t have remorse. That is on you.

Victim impact statements from Matthew’s sisters (also the children’s aunts) painted a heart-wrenching picture. They spoke of Matthew’s loving spirit, his goofiness, and the bright futures stolen from Arianna and Ava.

Colby Brookman: From Country Boy Vibes to Calculated Contrition

Here’s where the story takes a familiar turn.

In late 2024, Colby began appearing in Facebook pen pal groups. His early bios were upbeat, light-hearted, even flirty. There was no mention of the crash, the victims, or the fact that he was in prison for killing his children and brother-in-law.

My goal is to meet new people who will bring positivity and joy into my life! So if you feel like having a conversation, don’t hesitate because I won’t bite!

By February 2025, he was still posting and still omitting the truth.

But by May 2025, his tone changed dramatically. On WriteAPrisoner, a much more public platform, Brookman released a new bio with a strikingly different approach. This time, he led with the tragedy.

Easter 2020, I drank and drove, lost control of my truck, and wrecked into an afterbay… my baby girls and my brother drowned. This was the most horrific, tragic event of my life.

He spoke of sobriety, God, anger management, college, and his dreams of opening a mobile mechanic shop for low-income families.

He also made a point to mention how much he hated seeing single mothers stranded on the road.

A little convenient, considering his parole eligibility begins in 2030, with a board consultation in 2033. It’s hard not to see this as laying the groundwork for a redemption arc, one he hopes the parole board will believe.

That sudden transformation happened just in time for his parole eligibility in 2030 and a parole board consultation in 2033.

The Witness Testimony That Still Haunts

The most damning part of this case isn’t just the crash. It’s what happened immediately afterward.

A witness saw Matthew Stothers struggling in the water, crying for help.

That witness shouted at Colby, who had just escaped the truck, to help Matthew.

Brookman refused. He made no attempt to save Matthew, and no effort to rescue his daughters.

Let’s be blunt: this was a man who had just launched his truck into deep water while intoxicated. His passengers, infants and an autistic man afraid of water, were dying. And he saved himself.

Then he stood there and did nothing.

The Unanswered Questions

Despite everything we know, there are still disturbing gaps in this story:

Why was he speeding toward a known dead-end?
Why didn’t he brake, swerve, or attempt to stop?
Why didn’t he save anyone else?
Why did he yell at the prosecutor in court instead of showing remorse?
Why did he only start showing regret when parole came into view?

And what about J’lynne Stothers, his wife, and the mother of the two children?

She escaped. She’s never issued a victim impact statement, never spoken publicly, and was never charged. She has since remarried and had another child. Her silence is deafening.

Image Management and Performative Redemption

Brookman’s May 2025 bio is a masterclass in strategic storytelling. He hits every checkbox:

Acknowledgment of wrongdoing
Sobriety
God and faith
Educational and career plans
Desire to help single moms
Country boy charisma
Vibes and LOLs, even when discussing a fatal crash

Is it remorse? Or just really good marketing?

It’s hard to ignore how different his tone was before. In earlier bios, he was carefree, chatty, and dodged accountability. Only when a wider audience and potential parole board were watching did he change his tune.

Final Thoughts: Is Colby Brookman a Changed Man?

The deaths of Arianna, Ava, and Matthew weren’t just accidents. They were the result of choices to drink, to drive, to speed, and ultimately, to save himself first.

Colby Brookman says he’s changed, that he’s healed. He wants to help others now.

But real change isn’t just about what you say, it’s what you do when no one’s watching.

And when it mattered most, when lives were at stake, Colby chose not to act.

We don’t get to rewrite tragedy with redemption arcs crafted for strangers online. We don’t get to market remorse as a brand.

Colby Brookman wants a second chance. But three people never got theirs.

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🎥 Full video: The Crash He Walked Away From: The Colby Brookman Case | Episode 3

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Timeline of the Colby Brookman Case

+ April 2020

April 12, 2020 (Easter Sunday), approximately 7:00 PM: Colby Allen Brookman, driving a 2004 GMC Sierra with his wife, J’lynne Stothers, their two infant daughters, Arianna and Ava, and J’lynne’s brother, Matthew Stothers, as passengers, crashes into the Thermalito Dam canal at the end of Grand Avenue in Oroville, California. Evidence indicates Brookman was driving at over 80 mph after drinking numerous beers throughout the day and being told not to drive. The truck goes through a fence, hits an embankment, becomes airborne, and lands submerged in the canal.

Brookman and J’lynne Stothers are able to escape from the submerged vehicle and swim to shore.

A witness on a levee sees Matthew Stothers surface near Brookman and J’lynne, struggle to swim, and then sink below the surface. The witness tells Brookman to help Matthew, but Brookman refuses.

Emergency personnel free the three passengers from the rear of the vehicle. The adult male passenger (Matthew Stothers) sustains fatal injuries and dies at the scene. The two minor children (Arianna and Ava) sustain major injuries and are transported to hospitals.

Brookman is arrested on suspicion of felony DUI, felony child endangerment, and vehicular manslaughter. He is transported to Oroville Hospital with major injuries and remains in CHP custody. J’lynne Stothers sustains moderate injuries.

April 13, 2020 (Early Morning): The two infant children, Arianna and Ava, succumb to their injuries at the hospital.

April 13, 2020: The California Highway Patrol in Oroville states that alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.

April 14, 2020: Brookman is booked into the Butte County Jail and held without bail.

+ April 2021

April 2, 2021: A preliminary hearing is held for Colby Allen Brookman before Judge Kristen Lucena in Butte County Superior Court. Judge Lucena finds sufficient evidence to send the case to a jury trial. Brookman is charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony DUI. Evidence presented includes Brookman’s blood alcohol level (0.12% two hours after the crash), testimony about his drinking, and data from the truck’s “black box” showing the speed. A witness also testifies to seeing Matthew Stothers struggle and sink after the crash.

April 14, 2021: Brookman’s case is scheduled for arraignment and jury trial setting.

+ April 2022

April 13, 2022: Colby Allen Brookman, now 29, pleads no contest to felony Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated in Butte County Superior Court. He also admits that this is his fourth “strike,” making him eligible for a life sentence.

+ May 2022

May 22, 2022: Brookman’s original sentencing date of May 23 is postponed due to a COVID lockdown/quarantine in his jail pod.

May 23, 2022: Brookman’s attorney and the judge convene to set a new sentencing date for June 16.

+ June 2022

June 16, 2022: Colby Allen Brookman is sentenced to the maximum term of 37 years to life in state prison for felony Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated by Judge Corie Caraway in Butte County Superior Court. A fourth “strike” results in a life sentence. During the sentencing, Matthew Stothers’ sisters and Arianna and Ava’s aunts read victim impact statements. Prosecutor Ashley Furry speaks about Brookman’s lack of remorse, and Brookman interrupts her. Judge Caraway comments on Brookman’s apparent lack of remorse. Brookman remains in Butte County Jail until he is transported to the California Department of Corrections.