Mother-of-two, 45, shot dead by ex-boyfriend's mom in horror murder suicide in NYC's Upper East Side - as shocking new details emerge

A grandmother fatally shot her son's ex girlfriend before killing herself amid an ugly custody battle between the couple.

Marisa Galloway, 45, was loading her one-year-old child into a car seat in the back of a parked car when her ex mother-in-law, Kathleen Leigh, 65, shot her in the head and her back. She then took her own life by shooting herself in the head.

Galloway has been battling custody of her four-year-old child with Leigh's son, the father of the child, since 2021. The one-year-old has a different father.

The late mother had a history of domestic violence disputes with her partner related to the custody battle, said NYPD's chief of detectives Joseph Kenny. Five reports and two complaints had been filed with the NYPD between July 2021 and November, but no arrests were made.

Leigh was pronounced dead at the scene. Galloway was rushed to the hospital, where life saving efforts were made, but she ultimately succumbed to her life-ending wounds.  

Two guns were recovered at the crime scene - a 9-millimeter gun from the sidewalk and another gun in the tote bag leigh had on her. Police are trying to confirm whether or not Leigh had owned the firearms during her time as a probation officer.

Police were called to the apartment, located steps away from Mayor Adam's residence, the Gracie Mansion, in the Yorkville - a neighborhood that has a reputation for being generally safe and quiet - just before 9 am.

The 911 caller reported hearing three gunshots, then looking out the window to see two women lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood.

First responders said Galloway was still breathing when they arrived, but was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Leigh was a retired probation officer from Chicago, and had moved in with her son in their Upper East Side apartment three years ago.

Sources told the New York Post that Leigh had terminal cancer and had been undergoing treatment while living with her son in his doorman building.

The neighbors have been in the know about Galloway and Leigh's ongoing feud.

'She always talked about the fact that she had a former [partner] that was harassing the hell out of her because I had child services at my door one evening asking if I had ever heard any problems next door,' said Galloway's neighbor Meryl Feidelman.

'I said, 'No, no she's a lovely, lovely mother, a lovely woman.'

Leigh allegedly believed Galloway to be abusive, as several of the reports included complaints from the four-year-old's father, claiming that his daughter would arrive home with bruises on her arm, but investigators found the accusations unfounded.

But residents in the building suggest otherwise, as a neighbor told the New York Post that the mother showed no signs of a cancer diagnosis, and often told others in the building that she thought Galloway was an abuser.

'She used to say things to me like the mother is abusing the child,' the neighbor said, 'which I don't think there was any evidence of that.'

'But I know she did not like the ex-daughter-in-law.'

Sources told the New York Post that the father had custody Friday through Monday, while Galloway had their daughter Tuesday through Thursday.

NYPD investigators reportedly entered the apartment and walked out with a cardboard box of items.

The investigation is still ongoing. No arrests have been made.

Galloway, a former D1 track runner at Fordham University, was a volunteer track coach at her alma mater.

'The Fordham University community is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Marisa Galloway, a Fordham alumna who served as a volunteer assistant track and field coach at Fordham for 17 years until 2019,' a school spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

 'While at Fordham, she was a high jumper for the Rams and also participated in sprints and relay teams over her career. She capped her senior season in 2001 by placing third in the high jump at the Metropolitan Championships,' the statement continued. 'We keep Marissa and her loved ones in our thoughts and prayers.'