In what has become one of the most divisive criminal cases of 2025, 17-year-old Sarah Grace Patrick is accused of killing her mother, Kristin Brock (41), and stepfather, James Brock (45), in the quiet town of Carrollton, Georgia. The double murder committed on February 20 while the victims were asleep has grabbed the public’s attention because of how emotionally complicated it is, the disturbing digital trail it left behind, and the fact that the legal situation is still unclear.
There is a story behind the terrifying headlines and viral TikToks that is full of family problems, custody battles, drug abuse claims, and a blurry line between sadness and suspicion.
Arrest and charges
Sarah Grace Patrick turned herself in on July 8, 2016, with her biological father, Doniel Patrick. She is now charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault. The police have charged her as an adult, saying they have “mountains of physical and digital evidence” to back up their claims.
Sarah, who was 16 at the time of the murders, was inside the house when her 5-year-old sister Jaley found their parents dead and called 911. At first, reports made the event appear like a tragic mystery, but suspicions quickly turned inward.
Even though most people believed she was sad about the death, authorities say that Sarah’s emotional displays, from funeral eulogies to social media tributes, may have hidden a darker truth.
A childhood full of fighting
The story doesn’t start at the crime scene; it starts years earlier in a courtroom. Kristin and Doniel Patrick, Sarah’s parents, got divorced in 2018 after being married for 10 years. They had two kids together: Sarah and her younger brother Donnie.
Kristin got primary physical custody in their divorce settlement, and Doniel was allowed to visit her on weekends and holidays. Both of them agreed not to use drugs or alcohol around the kids, but that promise was quickly put to the test.
Doniel asked for emergency custody in November 2019, saying which Kristin and her partner James gave the kids meth and marijuana. He said their house wasn’t safe and that James had hit Donnie with a belt, leaving marks on his body. The Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) got involved, but the temporary custody order Doniel got only lasted five days before it was cancelled.
Sarah, who was 11 at the time, is said to have told her teacher that she was afraid to go again to her mother’s house. In a written statement, she said she wanted to live with her father because her mother abused drugs and had guests who made her feel uncomfortable.
James Brock’s past created things worse. He was initially determined guilty of having meth in 2017 and had broken his probation by committing more crimes, such as having marijuana and taking from stores. He couldn’t own a gun because he was a convicted felon, but many people were fascinated about how a shooting happened in his home.
Disputes over custody and the law
The fight between Kristin and Doniel got worse. Kristin told Doniel that he had to pay $5,000 so that Sarah could live with him without any more legal issues. She said she would call the police if he didn’t do what she wanted.
Later, Kristin said that Doniel drank too much when he came to see her and that he talked poorly about her and James in front of the kids. He denied the charges and continued to bring up worries about the state of the home.
The court ordered a 50/50 custody arrangement in March 2020 and told Sarah to get counselling. By October 2020, she was living with her father during the week and going to see her mother on the weekends. By 2023, it was surprising that things appeared to be becoming better between Doniel and Kristin. Doniel even wrote online about how wonderful their daughter was.
The dark turn in 2022
James Brock asked for a temporary protection order against Kristin in August 2022. He said she tried to run him over with a car while he was in a barn. Their daughter Jaley was in the backseat, and Donnie saw what took place.
Kristin was charged with child abuse and domestic violence, but those charges were withdrawn after she died. The court gave James temporary custody of Jaley and told Kristin to leave the house. They got again and got married in December 2023.
Although they had a lot of problems in the past, Kristin and James were said to be active in their church, recently got baptised, and were trying to start over.
A daughter’s haunting digital trail
Sarah’s large social media presence after the murders makes this case further complicated. She performed like a sad teenager who had lost something she couldn’t even imagine—a girl whose parents had died and whose younger sister had been hurt.
Her TikTok account, which is no longer engaged, was full of emotional captions and tearful tributes:
- “I just want my mum.”
- “Keep a spot for me in heaven.”
- “They don’t know it, but in a year, my 5-year-old sister and I would find them wrongfully shot dead in our home.”
Videos showed her crying into her mother’s clothes, demonstrating pictures of the cremation urns, and feeling bad that her sister Jaley found the bodies. One post said, “It hurts me to see my 5-year-old sister scream for her mommy and daddy.”
To her fans, she looked like a broken teen holding on to memories. But she was also getting in contact with influencers and true crime creators to help spread the word about the case.
Trying to change the story
On June 3, Sarah sent a private message to a TikTok true crime creator named @AllegedlyReportedly, asking them to look into the “Brock case.” She said in her message that someone had come into her house and shot her parents. She said the event was sudden and violent.
Kellie Brown, another friend of the family, said that Sarah identified as her on June 22 and asked her to help spread the word about the story. Sarah is said to have said that she was awake during the murders but didn’t hear something odd, except for her stepfather’s heart monitor beeping.
It seems that these attempts to get people to pay consideration were part of a bigger plan to avoid being suspected, which is something that investigators haven’t ruled out.
The eulogy that made everything different
The March 8 funeral service at Catalyst Church, where Sarah gave a moving eulogy, may have been the most chilling piece of evidence.
She wore a simple pale blue dress to honour her mother and James. She called her mother “a beautiful, kind soul” and thanked James for “the life lessons.” The speech ended with an unexpected “I’m sorry.”
Ashley Hulsey, the communications director for Carroll County, said that this moment stood out. Later, investigators said that the eulogy was one of the most significant pieces of evidence in their case because they believed it might have been planned rather than real sadness.
A family and community that don’t get along
Dennis Nolan, Sarah’s maternal grandfather, asked how strong the evidence was. He said there was “nothing putting the gun in her hand” and denied claims that she had lived among various relatives, saying that she had always lived mostly with the Brocks.
Sarah’s paternal grandmother, Donna Arnett, said that Sarah had been in the hospital before, but she didn’t know why. Dennis, on the other hand, didn’t know anything about any mental health problems.
James Brock’s son, Trysten, defended his father’s memory at the same time. He said that James had a troubled past, but that he had changed and was now focused on his family.
How the police and the public reacted
The investigation into the case is still going on. Authorities continue to look at digital and forensic evidence and haven’t ruled out the possibility of more arrests. There was no sign of forced entry, and nothing seemed to be missing, which made the situation even more mysterious.
There is still a lot of disagreement among the public. Some people think Sarah is a “heartbroken teen,” while others call her a “angel-faced killer.” Her posts have become extremely viral, and now there are a lot of comments asking if her grief was real or just a clever trick.
Doniel, Sarah’s father, still believes she is innocent. He has been very clear about how upset he is with the investigation and says that his daughter never showed any signs of problems. In an interview, he said, “She would never do this,” and he was heartbroken by the criticism she got online and in the news.
What will happen next
Sarah Grace Patrick will be back in court on August 11. Many people hope that more hearings will help explain the motive, if there is one, behind the alleged murders.
At this point, this case is still a disturbing mix of family problems, emotional manipulation, and social media performance. No matter what happens to Sarah, the lives of everyone involved, especially the younger kids like Donnie and Jaley, will never be the same.
