Murder suspect who allegedly stabbed his long-time girlfriend 55 times sobs in court and tells his family: “I didn't mean it like that”

The video is from an earlier story

HAMILTON, Ohio (WXIX) – It's not every day that a murder suspect completely loses his composure at the start of his trial and sobs as he confesses to the crime. But that's exactly what happened in a Butler County courtroom on Monday, according to prosecutors.

Toby Madden, 52, is accused of brutally killing his long-time girlfriend and the mother of his child in their Hamilton home nearly two years ago by stabbing her 55 times.

He is on trial for double murder and aggravated assault in connection with the killing of 50-year-old Rachelle Brewsaugh.

According to court documents, Madden maintained his innocence and insisted he was not the one who killed his girlfriend of 27 years.

Before the jury came in on Monday morning, however, Madden saw his family, including his daughter, in the courtroom and sobbed.

With a stabbing motion of his arm, Madden told his family, “I am responsible for what happened to you. I didn't mean it. I love you,” Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Hon said in court Monday, according to the hearing recorded by Court TV.

Madden also said, “I don’t want you to hate me.”

Witnesses, including a detective who heard and saw the astonishing testimony, which was recorded in the courtroom and caused the judge to briefly adjourn the proceedings, will testify, said Hon.

“That's what you're going to hear in this trial,” Hon told the jury. “And now my plan is to make my opening statement, which I've prepared, and explain to you what he didn't want to do. And ladies and gentlemen, it's 55. That's the number I want you all to remember. You're going to hear that number a lot during this trial.

“That's the number of times Toby Madden – the man sitting there – stabbed and killed Rachelle Brewsaugh on October 11, 2022. Fifty-five times. He stabbed his girlfriend of over 20 years and the mother of his child 55 times.”

According to the autopsy report, she suffered stab wounds to the head, chest, abdomen, upper back, left knee, and both sides of her arms, shoulders and hands.

While the state presented its opening arguments on Monday, Madden's defense did not.

He declined this opportunity, which rarely arises because it allows the prosecution to present evidence without taking into account the defense's point of view.

The prosecutor called Madden's daughter, MacKayla Madden, to the witness stand.

She testified about her parents' volatile on-off relationship.

She told the jury what she heard her father say in court earlier that day: “I'm sorry. We had an argument. Basically, I'm the one who did it. Don't hate me. I love you guys.”

Testimony will resume on Tuesday as the state continues to present its case.

Madden was declared competent to stand trial in August 2023, but court records show the case has been postponed several times.

He complained about and fired his various lawyers, five of whom were appointed by the court.

Earlier this month, Madden attempted to fire his sixth attorney and delay the trial again by attempting to represent himself.

Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer McElfresh had already ruled against the same motion in January.

This time, Madden's attorney withdrew the motion two weeks after it was filed.

Additional security measures may be required for the hearing.

The judge removed Madden from the courtroom in March after he continued to yell despite being asked to stop. Officers then attempted to escort him out of the courtroom.

He recently chose to begin an 11-year sentence in state prison after being convicted of drug possession in another case, although he appealed the verdict and could have remained in the Butler County Jail since his murder trial begins so soon after.

However, court records show that Madden also complained about alleged “problems” at the prison and with staff.

According to court records, the Butler County Sheriff's Office caught him in 2021 with a suitcase full of over 300 grams of methamphetamine.

An appeals filing shows that officers seized the meth but did not arrest Madden in the hope that he would cooperate with them as a confidential informant and eventually tell them how he got the drug.

However, he never contacted them again and they eventually charged him with drug possession.

When Madden investigated his girlfriend's murder, Hamilton police said someone else committed the murder because there was a bounty on his head for the drugs.

He has been in Chillicothe State Prison since June, but was recently transferred back to Butler County Jail for this trial.

According to court records, he had already been convicted of aggravated assault in 1988 and was serving a sentence of three to 15 years in a maximum security prison in Mansfield.

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