The shocking incident unfolded in the wooded area near an apartment complex with the couple both found dead in the woods while a third man was found shot nearby and later died in the hospital.
After the violence had stopped in Independence, Kentucky, one former couple were found dead in a wooded area near an apartment complex. Another man was also found shot in a nearby location; he later died at the hospital.
The 24-year-old woman — identified alternately as Heavan Glison by People and a statement they received from local police and Heaven Glisson on what appears to be her Facebook page, as well as news coverage by Fox 19, Fox 56, Dayton 24/7 and others — lived at the nearby apartment, as did the third victim who died at the hospital, Daylon Bradford, 33 (above right).
Police believe that the shooter for all three deaths, including his own, was Glisson’s ex-fiancée, Donald Bryant, 34 (above center). Glisson and Bryant share a child who is just a few months old, according to a relative who spoke with Fox 19.
Officers responded to the shooting at approximately 11:20 p.m. on Sunday night, where they first encountered Bradford suffering from gunshot wounds. CBS affiliate WKRC reports that Bradford was suffering from a head wound. Police immediately began chest compressions until he could be put into an ambulance.
Bradford was in critical condition and transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. On Monday evening, police confirmed to Fox 19 that Bradford had succumbed to his injuries and died. A neighbor told WKRC that Bradford also had a new baby at home.
On the scene, witnesses told police to search the nearby woods for Bryant and Glisson in relation to the shooting of Bradford. Police dispatched drones, K9 units and a SWAT team to form a perimeter around the woods. WKRC reports that police searched for about two hours until they heard approximately eight shots ring out from the woods, per Fox 56.
“We had K9s tracking in the area because some neighbors said that they heard some other people in the woods. K9s had tracked for about an hour and a half to two hours, and that’s when the shots were fired,” Independence Police Department Captain Mike Brock told WKRC. “At that point, we believed that we kind of knew who we were looking for.”
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After 90 additional minutes of searching, the police dogs helped officers track down the bodies of Bryant and Glisson at around 3 a.m.; they were found together. Police stated that they believe Bryant shot Bradford before going into the woods with Glisson. Then, while they were looking for the pair, they believe he shot Glisson and then turned the gun on himself.
Brock told Fox 19 police had been called to Glisson’s apartment on Friday in regards to an “emotional crisis” regarding Bryant. He said that the suspect was cooperative with responding officers and that due to a lack of evidence, there was nothing they could charge him with at that time.
The grandmother of Glisson’s oldest child, Kristina Cochran, told the news station that Glisson and Bryant had been engaged, but it was Glisson who had called it off. She said that Glisson had confided in her about Bryant’s allegedly abusive behavior.
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“She thought she found the one. In her mind, he was like a knight in shining armor to her rescue,” Cochran said of how Glisson felt at first. Then, things changed. “She was scared of him, and she told me that.”
Cochran said she had encouraged Glisson to move to the apartment complex where she ultimately died to get away from Bryant. Further, she said that Glisson had been intending to get a restraining order on Bryant Monday morning, “but she didn’t make it.”
Court records in Gallatin County confirm that Bryant had a criminal record, and that he’d been previously charged with assault. Police have not said if Bradford had any connections to Bryant and Glisson.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.
