The Byrd brothers shared a last name, two parents, and a home in Drexel Hill. But the similarities ended there, according to testimony in Delaware County Court.

And in the end, their differences. left one of them dead and the other convicted of murder and sentenced this week to five to 20 years in state prison.

Anthony Byrd, 22, was a violent and menacing small-time drug dealer who terrorized his younger brother, Amir, his mother, and his younger sister, whom he once beat so brutally that he required reconstructive surgery. facial, according to the court. testimony.

Amir, on the other hand, was an honor roll student at Upper Darby High School, on track to be recruited to play basketball or football at the University of Delaware.

But it was Amir Byrd, 20, who found himself before Delaware County Court Judge Anthony Scanlon this week pleading guilty to third-degree murder for the shooting death of his older brother in what his attorney said was an act of self-defense after years of abuse. .

Still, the judge said that in sentencing him to prison, Byrd did not have the right to “act as judge, jury and executioner.”

“No matter how bad someone is, no one is above or below the law,” he said. “If you break the law, kill someone without a specific legal justification, you will be prosecuted.”

The road to that moment, prosecutors said, began with a basketball game on March 23, 2023. The Byrd brothers and some of their relatives had gone to the YMCA in Havertown for a game that ended in a loss that Anthony Byrd “did not like.” “could.” I don’t accept it,” according to Amir Byrd’s lawyer, Guy Sciola. Anthony Byrd, who played on the team opposite his brother, was angry and threatened to kill him, Sciola said. .

Given his brother’s history of violence, Amir Byrd took those threats seriously, the attorney said. Anthony Byrd had repeatedly attacked his brother while trying to get him to join him in drug dealing, and once fired a gun at their mother during an argument at their home, the mother, Alicia Byrd, said in court.

She said Anthony Byrd had become violent and controlling after her husband’s death years earlier, and frequently abused her verbally, physically and emotionally.

Sciolla drew parallels to the biblical story of Cain and Abel when describing his client’s mentality.

“You have a bad son and a good son,” he said. “There was no love that could stop (Anthony Byrd) from doing what he wanted to do, and in (Amir Byrd’s) mind, his thoughts were on the safety of himself and his family, after being threatened all day.” .

When the brothers arrived home, Anthony Byrd continued to threaten and harass their family, Sciola said. In response, he said, Amir Byrd went to his room, pulled out and loaded a gun, went downstairs and shot his brother.

Investigators recovered nine bullet casings in the Byrd family’s living room. Anthony Byrd was shot several times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives recovered a .40 caliber Glock pistol.

The prosecutor said there were no other weapons at the scene and there was no indication that Anthony Byrd had been armed. Deputy District Attorney Gina Gorbey asked for a sentence of 20 to 40 years because, regardless of the circumstances, she said, Byrd had taken his own life. .

“Although I understand that Anthony had a past and some don’t speak very highly of him, he’s still a life, he’s still a human being,” he said. “And we don’t live in a world where you can kill someone because you don’t like them or because they’re a bad person.”

Judge Scanlon noted that Byrd had not been arrested before and had been a model prisoner in the months he was in custody after his arrest, earning his GED and tutoring other inmates. And yet, he said, murder required a long prison sentence.