Dad wins custody of kids, then ex’s boyfriend kills him moments after, VA family says

A father was shot to death by his ex-wife’s boyfriend after leaving a court hearing where he won custody of his children, according to his family in Virginia.

Alex Brown, 29, was shot outside his mother and stepfather’s home in Louisa around 3:20 p.m. on May 9 after returning from the hearing, where he was awarded custody of his two sons, according to police and a GoFundMe page created by family members.

The suspect, David Branham, 36, was also “involved” in the custody dispute, according to a news release from the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office. Before the killing, he shot into a vehicle that Brown was in with “several others,” the release says.

Branham is charged with murder and attempted malicious wounding, according to the sheriff’s office. Additional charges are pending, and he is being held without bond. No attorney information was available for Branham online.

Brown’s mother, Suz McKoy, wrote on Facebook that Brown was in a custody dispute with his estranged wife and that Branham, who is her boyfriend, was not involved. She also wrote that the shooting into the car occurred about five minutes before Branham “chased (Brown) down and killed him.”

McKoy did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

She described the moments leading up to the shooting on Facebook.

Brown’s girlfriend was driving the car back from the courthouse, and Brown was texting his brother to say he was happy that he’d gotten custody of his kids, McKoy wrote.

McKoy was also in the car and wrote that the shooting started as the car pulled into the driveway.

“I’ll never be able to close my eyes without seeing (my son) running from the car drawing fire away from me,” she wrote, “if he hadn’t got out in that split second I would have been shot. My son saved my life, only to lose his less than 5 minutes later.”

She wrote that her husband tried to save Brown “despite being shot at.”

“Grief is scary, especially when we are so angry because this was truly a senseless death,” she wrote.

Loved ones described Brown as a hard worker who was planning to go back to school. He had a total of three sons, according to the GoFundMe page.

“He was starting a new life and his primary focus was his children and his relationship with his girlfriend, family, and friends,” the page says. “Alex not only leaves behind a mother, stepfather, younger brother, and a girlfriend, and other family and friends ... but he also leaves behind 3 very young boys who he lived and ultimately died for.”

Instead of celebrating his victory in the custody dispute, loved ones are now mourning his loss, family members said.

“We rode home from court elated, and the first shots were fired before we even got out of the car at home,” McKoy wrote. “We don’t even know if (Branham) followed us or was here waiting for us, but he hunted my son and he killed him.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2023 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Dad wins custody of kids, then ex’s boyfriend kills him moments after, VA family says."