A late-night call about gunfire at Taylor Ridge Apartments in Independence, Kentucky, led police to a grim scene on September 21, 2025. Officers found 33-year-old Daylon Bradford of Covington, Kentucky, critically injured outside the building with a gunshot wound to the head. Witnesses reported seeing a man and a woman fleeing into nearby woods, initiating a tense search that ended in tragedy. By early Monday morning, three people were dead in what police are calling a murder-suicide stemming from a domestic dispute.
Around 11:20 p.m. on Sunday, Independence Police responded to reports of shots fired at the apartment complex on Regal Ridge Drive. Despite immediate CPR and transport to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Bradford died Monday evening.
As officers secured the scene, witnesses described seeing 34-year-old Donald Bryant and 24-year-old Heaven Glisson running into the nearby woods. The search took a tragic turn around 1:30 a.m. Monday, when police heard five to eight more gunshots from the woods. Using drones and SWAT teams, authorities located the pair by 3 a.m., both deceased from gunshot wounds.
Police determined that Bryant, Glisson’s ex-fiancé and the father of her infant child, killed Glisson before taking his own life. The Independence Police Department is investigating the events leading up to the violence, with Captain Mike Brock stating that the exact relationships and motives are still under investigation. Family members and neighbors provided further context. Glisson had recently ended her engagement with Bryant and moved to the apartments to escape what her family described as an abusive relationship.
Court records indicate Bryant had a prior assault charge. On Friday, Glisson reported an “emotional crisis” involving Bryant refusing to leave her home. Hours before the shooting, Bryant sent Glisson a message about “having fun,” which family members believe indicated jealousy or stalking. Glisson planned to seek an Emergency Protective Order against him the following morning but could not.
Bradford’s role in the tragedy remains unclear. Some reports suggest he was either retrieving diapers for his baby or attempting to help Glisson during what appeared to be a kidnapping. Neighbor Amy Schry described Bradford as being shot while trying to intervene. The community was shaken, with a shelter-in-place order issued during the overnight search.
Police later located Bryant’s vehicle, a 1992 white Honda Prelude with a black hood and Kentucky license plate SOG-514, in a nearby neighborhood. Authorities are asking for tips about the vehicle or the incident. Anyone with information is urged to call 859-363-2919 or Kenton County Emergency Communications at 859-356-3191.
