Charisma Smith – 21 years old Mother Killed After Escaping Her Baby Father

An ex-boyfriend of a young woman searched for her new apartment for more than a week before he found it and went there to kill her, according to her mother, Mahogany Gaddis.

She died after she was shot in the head by the man, 44-year-old Michael Brantley.

Following the incident, Brantley shot himself in his car near the Syracuse Airport and later died at Upstate Hospital, Fitzpatrick says. The 18-year-old brother of the victim was also shot multiple times in his leg and stomach, according to police. They say he is expected to survive.

Michael Brantley had been searching for the victim, who had not shared her new address, for several days before he came to her apartment the mother of the victim, Mahogany Gaddis said.

Friends had warned the young woman that Brantley was knocking on doors and showing her photo to people in an attempt to locate her, Gaddis said.

Around 11:20 p.m., Brantley showed up at the apartment and killed his ex-girlfriend in front of at least one of her small children, according to Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick. Shortly after the shooting, Brantley was found in his car near Syracuse Hancock International Airport with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Fitzpatrick said.

Brantley was the father of Smith’s two children who are 4 years old and 1 year old, Gaddis said.

The victim and Brantley met when she was just 16 years old, her mother said. Smith was pregnant with her first child by the time she was 17 years old. Brantley would have been around 40 at the time, Gaddis said. Police still are unsure why the shooting occurred. Anyone with information is asked to call the Syracuse Police Department at (315) 442-5222.

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