Columbia man accused of murdering child indicted by grand jury
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man accused for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of a 3-year-old in September was indicted by a grand jury on Friday.
Larry Brownlee Jr., 28, of Columbia, was charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and illegal gun possession. He is being held in the Boone County Jail without bond. An arraignment is set for 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30.
Police responded on Sunday, Sept. 24, to the area of Leeway Drive and Blue Ridge Road just after 2 p.m., according to previous reporting. A child had been shot in the torso and two adults were rushing him to Columbia Fire Station No. 9 for help, according to a press release at the time.
Police then took the child to a local hospital, where he later died. Court documents indicated the mother of the child gave conflicting statements.
Two adults were in the car, police say -- Brownlee and the boy's mother. The woman told officers that they had gone to get groceries and noticed a suspicious car, according to a probable cause statement. She said the car had stopped and gotten out when she heard a gunshot and saw the child had been shot, court documents state.
Investigators found blood on the steps and landing of an apartment where the mother lived, the statement says. She told police when she was interviewed again that she was in the kitchen when she heard a gunshot in the bedroom, according to the statement.
She found the boy holding his stomach and rushed him to the hospital and they were in a wreck on the way, the statement says.
The probable cause statement, which redacted names, says Brownlee was driving and was at the hospital with the woman after the shooting. A motion to set bond says he repeatedly asked the mother not to tell the police he shot her son.
A vigil was held by the boy’s family at Grace Bible Chapel Church on last month, where family, friends, and community members shared stories and released balloons in remembrance of the child.
