Dad who drove twin girls off Sunset Cliffs pleads guilty to attempt murder

A man who intentionally drove a pickup truck off Sunset Cliffs into the ocean with his twin toddlers inside pleaded guilty Friday to charges that include attempted murder and kidnapping.

Robert Brians, 51, is set to be sentenced next month to 31 years in state prison for abducting his twin 2-year-old daughters from his parents’ home on June 13, 2020, then speeding off a cliff into the waters below.

About 4:30 a.m. that day, the toddlers’ mother called 911 to report that Brians had taken their children without permission.

At a 2021 preliminary hearing, she testified that after Brians took the children, she exchanged several text messages with him as she tried to ascertain their whereabouts.

She testified that Brians repeatedly sent messages indicating that he was planning to drive off a cliff in his truck while his girls were inside.

One message he sent her read, “The girls are going to Heaven and I’m going to Hell to wait for you.”

San Diego police Detective Aletha Lennier testified that three minutes prior to driving off the cliff, Brians made a Facebook post that read in part, “Tonight, I’m sending my babies to Heaven.”

Though Brians’ wife initially believed he was planning to drive off the Coronado Bridge, police were able to locate him in the Sunset Cliffs area by tracking his cellphone, according to preliminary hearing testimony.

Around 5 a.m., Lt. David Bautista spotted the truck on Hill Street, near Sunset Clif...