NYPD: Mother and grandmother die in custody battle after murder-suicide on Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — A mother and grandmother were killed on Friday after an altercation in a custody dispute on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York police said.

It happened just before 9 a.m. on East 88th Street between York and East End Avenue, just down the street from the entrance to Gracie Mansion.

People were outside enjoying the day, many with strollers. When the shots rang out, they quickly sought shelter.

New York Police Department Chief of Criminal Investigation Joseph Kenny said a custody dispute was the reason for the tragic murder-suicide.

Marissa Galloway, 45, had just put her child in the car and was putting the stroller in the trunk when the child’s grandmother approached her.

According to police, 65-year-old Kathleen Leigh then pulled out a 9mm Glock and shot Galloway in the head and then again in the back as she lay in the back of the vehicle on the road.

Leigh, from Chicago, then shot herself in the head on the sidewalk. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Galloway was taken to hospital where she later died.

There was an ongoing custody dispute between Galloway and the child’s father, who was not injured in the shooting.

The NYPD received at least five reports of domestic disputes within the family and two additional reports of complaints.

Kenny said the 9mm gun was found on the sidewalk next to Leigh and that another gun was found in her shopping bag.

“She is a retired probation officer from Cook County and has been living in New York City with family for three years,” Kenny said.

Galloway was an experienced runner and longtime track and field coach at Fordham University.

The university said the community was “deeply saddened by the tragic death… We are thinking of Marissa and her family and praying for them.”

She was a Fordham graduate and worked as a volunteer assistant track and field coach at Fordham for 17 years until 2019.

Galloway also worked as a teacher in Westchester.

In addition to her four-year-old son, Galloway also had a one-year-old daughter with her, who is not related to the suspect. She was not at the crime scene.

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