By: Pat Trevino
Luling, TX
It was April 30, 2020 and the night was thick with tension, the air charged with something unseen. Bryan Haynes, 38, gripped his weapon, his pulse hammering in his ears. He had been chased for miles, pursued by figures that weren’t human—their movements unnatural, their presence suffocating.
He had warned his family. He had told them about the aliens, the ones who had been tracking him, waiting for the right moment to strike. They had come in an ATV, their vehicle marked with firefighter decals, but Haynes knew better. He knew what they really were.
When the figures emerged near Tenney Creek Road in Tilmon, he didn’t hesitate. He emptied his magazines, firing round after round, but they wouldn’t die. They kept coming, their bodies absorbing the bullets like they were impervious to pain. He aimed for the middle, the head, determined to stop them before they could take him.
Later, investigators would find over 50 shell casings at the scene. The victims—Klayton Manning, 18, and Landin Robinson, 16—had no weapons. Manning was a volunteer firefighter with the Southeast Caldwell County Volunteer Fire Department, and Robinson was his cousin. They had simply been checking for signs of smoke, responding to a call when they encountered Haynes.
A little under 48 hours, authorities located Haynes at his father’s residence, where a tense standoff unfolded. Texas Ranger Reid Rackley spearheaded the negotiations, carefully working to ensure Haynes surrender and secure his arrest.
During the trial, Vanessa House, Haynes’ former fiancée and mother of his child, described a significant shift in his behavior in the months before the killings. She recalled how he became increasingly fixated on alarming conspiracy theories, spending hours consumed by videos on bizarre and unsettling topics. His paranoia escalated as he stockpiled canned goods, medical supplies, and other survival items, seemingly preparing for an impending catastrophe. House’s testimony provided insight into Haynes’ deteriorating mental state, painting a picture of a man descending into fear-driven delusions.
House revealed that Haynes did not return home the night of the murders but contacted her the next day, instructing her to meet him at their Georgetown property. But then changed the route to his father’s home.
During cross-examination, the defense presented follicle testing results showing no drugs in Haynes’ system. In late 2024, a jury ruled him competent to stand trial, determining that he understood the charges against him. However, the defense called two expert medical witnesses, arguing that Haynes should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Haynes did not deny the killings, but his legal team sought to prove that he was legally insane at the time.
After the guilty verdict was read and the sentence was handed down, the courtroom turned somber as family members took the stand to express the deep pain and loss they had endured. Their statements reflected the irreparable impact of the crime, painting a vivid picture of grief that would linger for years to come.
Throughout the proceedings, Haynes remained expressionless, offering no outward reaction to the testimonies or the judgment. However, as Haynes was led from the courtroom, he briefly turned toward his brother, his expression unchanged. His hand lifted in a small wave, a moment of recognition amid the gravity of the situation. Yet, there was an eerie detachment in his movement—as if he acknowledged his brother but remained disconnected from the reality of his actions. The weight of the trial, the verdict, the lives lost—none of it seemed to register in that fleeting gesture
On May 22, 2025 a Caldwell County jury of six men and six women found 38-year-old Bryan Haynes guilty of two counts of capital murder for the 2020 shooting deaths of volunteer firefighter Klayton Manning and his cousin 16 year old Landin Robinson near Luling on April 30, 2020.
Haynes now sits behind bars, sentenced to life in prison without parole. A sentence that pales in comparison to the torment of his fractured mind. For Haynes the aliens still linger in the corners of his thoughts, silent and unseen to all except him. They are there Waiting! And Watching him!
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