Last week, the owner of an Alabama testing lab was sentenced to several years in prison for falsifying records – actions prosecutors contend caused many families great pain and suffering.
PEOPLE confirms Brandy Murrah, 37, received a 15-year sentence from Judge William Filmore on Nov. 12, after pleading guilty two months ago to one felony charge of perjury and 16 misdemeanor counts of forgery.
During her sentencing, which the Dothan Eagle was present for, Murrah was confronted by parents who’d lost custody of their children because of drug test results she’d doctored.
According to the Eagle, District Attorney Kirke Adams said that Murrah needed to go to prison because of all the suffering she had caused.
“She has committed a fraud upon the whole court system,” Adams emphasized.
Speaking to the judge prior to sentencing, Murrah acknowledged, “I know I did wrong,” before apologizing for her crimes.
“I’ve done a lot of things wrong in my life,” she told the court. “I’m sorry for anyone I ever hurt. I really did not do this intentionally to ever hurt anyone.”
Murrah was first arrested in 2019 by Ozark Police, on charges she fabricated drug screening results handled by her lab, A&J Lab Collections.
She was charged with perjury, the paper reports, after falsely testifying about the drug test results of a father fighting to retain custody of his kids. All of the forgery charges are based on reports she created about tests that were never conducted.
At least one of the victims was kept from her children for months before being reunited.
Jennifer Severs, who was the first to bring her concerns to Ozark Police, said the experience of being separated has scarred both her and her children, according to the paper.
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“This is a daily battle for me on who I can trust,” she explained. “This is a daily battle for my children.”
In 2017, Grace Locke lost her 3-month-old baby after her drug test results falsely showed she was positive for methamphetamine.
“I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest because I knew I was doing right with this one,” Locke testified. “I don’t understand why anybody would ever do that to any family, any children, for no reason.”
*story by People