On the morning of Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2023, the life of Adrianna Conville, a 20-year-old woman of mixed race, was tragically ended. Police and fire medics responded to a call about a shooting at approximately 10:15 a.m. at a Motel 6 in the 1400 block of Eastern Boulevard in Montgomery, Alabama. Inside one of the rooms, they discovered Adrianna with a fatal gunshot wound.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A second person, 17-year-old DeVris Bilbrew, was also found in the room with life-threatening gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment. The attack left him permanently paralyzed. According to evidence later presented in court, the shooting happened after Brendan Thomas, then 25, arrived at the hotel to visit Adrianna. When she told him that she did not want to leave with him, he pulled out a 9mm pistol and opened fire on both her and DeVris. Adrianna was struck in the back of her head and her thigh, while DeVris was hit twice in the back and once in the chest.
Montgomery police identified Thomas as a person of interest and took him into custody for questioning on the day of the shooting. He was subsequently arrested and charged with the murder of Adrianna Conville and the attempted murder of DeVris Bilbrew. Thomas was then incarcerated at the Montgomery County Detention Facility to await trial.
In April 2026, a Montgomery County jury convicted Brendan Thomas on both charges of murder and attempted murder. In June 2026, Judge Monet Gaines sentenced Thomas to two consecutive life sentences for the killing of Adrianna Conville and the permanent paralysis of DeVris Bilbrew. The case was officially closed with his conviction and sentencing.
