Joyce Brown-Rodriguez was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison for conspiring with her son to murder Christopher M. Wilson in Middletown Township in December of 2020.

Brown-Rodriguez, 56, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in December to third-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, and related charges. Last month, Brown-Rodriguez testified against her son who was convicted by a Bucks County jury of first-degree murder and related charges.

Five of Wilson’s daughters gave emotional impact statements before Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley, describing their father as a hard-working, devoted, and loving man whose loss has left an emptiness in their lives.

“The day I got that phone call is a day I will never forget,” one of the daughters testified. “Hearing those words crushed me.”

Wilson had been in a relationship with Brown-Rodriguez, and the daughters said they even considered her part of the family. But, they say, she was deceitful the entire time, even when she pretended to grieve with them the day after he was murdered.

Prior to sentencing, Judge Finley said the “callous murder” has impacted so many lives, including Wilson’s family and his co-workers who witnessed the killing.

Finley sentenced Brown-Rodriguez to 20-40 years in state prison and next month will sentence her son, Kahlill Saleem Brown.

Brown-Rodriguez and her son were arrested following an investigation by Detectives with the Middletown Township Police Department and Bucks County District Attorney’s Office with assistance from the Bucks County 20th Investigating Grand Jury.

The investigation found that Wilson and Brown-Rodriguez had been romantically involved since 2018, but Wilson had ended the relationship. Upset, Brown-Rodriguez repeatedly called and texted Wilson before going to his workplace on Dec. 9, 2020, the day before the shooting.

While sitting in the parking lot at Kuusakoski Inc., a recycling facility located at 900 Wheeler Way in Middletown Township, Brown-Rodriguez texted her son, Kahlill Brown, asking for his help. During her son’s trial, Brown-Rodriguez testified she told her son about the relationship, and her son said he would talk to Wilson.

The next day, Brown-Rodriguez drove the two of them to Wilson’s workplace, parking in a corner of the lot. When Wilson got out of his car to talk to a co-worker, her son got out of the car and walked toward Wilson and shot him several times, continuing to shoot when the victim fell to the ground.

Brown-Rodriguez drove over to her son, he got in the car, and they drove home to Philadelphia.

This investigation was conducted by Detectives with the Middletown Township Police Department and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office with the assistance of the Bucks County 20th Investigating Grand Jury. District Attorney Alan J. Garabedian prosecuted the case.