Parrish
SEYMOUR — A Norman man was sentenced Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court in connection to the 2021 death of a Seymour woman.
On Feb. 1, Brady A. Parrish, 27, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 Felony.
That plea was accepted by Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard Poynter who sentenced Parrish to 30 years in prison with 20 of those years to be served as an initial executed sentence in custody and 10 years to be suspended, according to a news release from Officer Adam Nicholson.
Nicholson, the public information officer for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, said the investigation began on Nov. 10, 2021, when county officers responded to a call of an unconscious female inside a home in the 400 block of West County Road 1050N, Seymour.
The female was identified as 58-year-old Lisha Branum, who was pronounced dead at scene by an official with the Jackson County Coroner’s Office, Nicholson said.
The investigation and autopsy results confirmed the cause of death as being gunshot wounds to the back. It was also determined Branum had been dead for a couple of days before being found inside the home. The investigation later showed Branum had been dead Nov. 8, Nicholson said.
Detectives located one shotgun shell casing inside the home that was sent to the Indiana State Police Lab for DNA testing. Months after the investigation started the Indiana State Police Lab confirmed Parrish’s DNA on the shotgun shell casing.
During the investigation, detectives obtained numerous social media and cellphone data records through court subpoenas and search warrants. There also were more than 100 interviews conducted.
In March of 2022, cellphone data was obtained that led investigators to two different witnesses. Both witnesses told investigators they had been in the area where the shooting took place on Nov. 8, 2021, and heard at least two gun shots, Nicholson said.
The two witnesses said Parrish had contacted them that same day requesting to be picked up and they agreed to pick him up at his mother’s residence in Kurtz.
Witnesses said when Parrish got into the vehicle, he had a 12-guage shotgun and said he needed to stop by a house.
Parrish then directed them to Branum’s residence, Nicholson said.
Witnesses said Parrish left the vehicle with the shotgun and told them both to stay in the car. After hearing the gun shots, Parrish returned to the vehicle and witnesses said he was acting strange. Parrish then requested to be taken to a residence in Brownstown, so he could obtain money to leave town, Nicholson said.
Investigators learned which residence in Brownstown Parrish had been taken to and the owners were interviewed and Ring doorbell video was obtained for evidence.
The video showed Parrish at the residence and the witness’s vehicle on the doorbell camera as they waited. Investigators were able to compare cellphone data times from the area of the crime scene with the timestamp of the Ring video to show the witnesses and Parrish traveled from the area of the scene to the residence in Brownstown.
The witnesses said they then took Parrish to Scott County and they eventually came back to Jackson County later in the evening on the night of the shooting, Nicholson said.
When cellphone data was provided to detectives by the cellphone carrier, data revealed Parrish had traveled out of state to Kansas City, Missouri, on the day Branum’s body was discovered.
In August of 2022 an arrest warrant was issued for Parrish and detectives traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, working with their local law enforcement in locating and arresting Parrish on the Jackson County warrant.
The arrest was made on Aug. 30, 2022, and he eventually waived extradition and transported from Missouri to the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown on Sept. 20, 2022. Parrish has remained in the jail since that time.
Nicholson said the investigation initially was hampered by a personal investigation conducted by a civilian close to Branum.
The personal investigation greatly lengthened the investigation and ultimately weakened the case, Nicholson said.
He said Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer and Jackson County Prosecutor Jeff Chalfant request citizens not attempt to intervene in or conduct their own investigation and under no circumstances alter a crime scene. Instead, they should contact law enforcement immediately and refrain from personal investigations.
Meyer gave credit to his detective division for the hard work and dedication they put into this investigation.
“I’m very proud of their outstanding investigation work, and team effort that has brought justice for Lisha and her family,” Meyer said.
Chalfant also thanked the detective division.
“Our sheriff’s department detectives conducted the most thorough investigation I have ever seen and their hard work solved this homicide.”
