A New York City woman murdered the mother of her granddaughter before committing suicide as part of a twisted plan to ensure her son gets full custody of the four-year-old child.
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According to court documents obtained by The New York Post, the woman was identified as terminally ill ex-Chicago probation officer, Kathleen Leigh. She murdered the child’s mother, Marisa Galloway. She shared the four-year-old, named Lilli, with Leigh’s son, Zachariah Reed. The murder and suicide took place on a Manhattan street as Marisa was putting Lilli in a car to head to New Jersey.
Following the devastating and disturbing event, Galloway’s parents, Nancy and John, have filed an emergency court petition claiming that Reed had run off to his Chicago “multimillion-dollar home” with Lilli under the pretext of mourning his mother’s death. He then barred the Galloways from any contact. This included video calls.
“Clearly, [Reed’s] mother had a deliberate plan to kill Marisa in order to provide custody for her son,” the court documents alleged. “Unfortunately, [Reed] has demonstrated an absolute intention to further those same goals of his mother as he has refused to provide us with any access to Lili at all in almost 3 weeks.”
The Galloways reside in Cape May, New Jersey. They asked a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to pass on Marisa’s parenting time, which was decided during a 2022 custody agreement with Reed, to them. They are also asking for Reed to live in New York City until Lilli is 18. That way they can keep a relationship with them as well as with her half-sister, Mariel. Marisa had her second child through a sperm donor and her parents now have custody.
The Murder-Suicide Victim’s Parents Would See Their Granddaughter Multiple Times A Month, Establishing a Strong Connection
Marisa’s mother Nancy stated in the court documents how hands-on she and John have always been with Lilli. They would see their granddaughter two to three times a month, often for multiple nights at a time.
“When we did not see [Lili], we would Facetime almost every day,” Nancy wrote in an affidavit. She also shared how close Lilli was to both grandparents. She also said that M John and Lili love gardening together. They would water the flowers and pick cherry tomatoes from his garden. He is waiting to tend the garden until the little girl is with him again.
Nancy went on to praise her daughter, calling her the best mother. “We would love to be involved with all aspects of taking care of an infant, toddler, and ultimately the little girl that Lili currently is,” Nancy wrote.
Nancy stated that Marisa and her ex had a “tumultuous relationship” since they ended things. They also had a “contentious” custody battle. She claimed that the relationship ended due to the interference of Reed’s mother.