Relatives, community members mourn mom fatally shot by ex-mother-in-law who then killed herself

Mourners for a mom-of-two fatally shot by her ex-mother-in-law — who then turned the gun on herself — on Sunday focused on raising money for a funeral service for the slain mother, who “touched everyone she met.”

The family of Marisa Galloway has so far raised roughly $59,000 of their $75,000 goal for expenses for an expected funeral on Sept. 29, according to tthe family’s online fundraiser .

A cousin of Galloway, Marc Bellanger, wrote on the page that her “kindness, generosity, and love were unparalleled,” and that she “touched everyone she met.”

“She devoted her whole life to her two beautiful daughters, Lili and Mariel… they were her world,” he wrote. “Marisa’s untimely passing will leave a void in all of our lives. But her memory will live on in her daughters and in all of our hearts.”

Retired Chicago probation officer Kathleen Leigh, 65, shot Galloway , 45, the mother of her granddaughter, on E. 88th St. near York Ave. about 8:50 a.m. Friday, then turned the gun on herself in an apparent murder-suicide, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has said.

He also revealed the shooting related to an ongoing custody dispute between Galloway and Leigh’s son over their 4-year-old daughter. Kenny said Galloway’s 1-year-old daughter, whom he described as not the target of the custody battle, was found unharmed, and strapped in a car seat in the back of the Honda.

Video recovered from the scene shows Galloway putting her baby daughter in the backseat just moments before the mom was shot in the head, Kenny said. Leigh died at the scene, cops said. Galloway was taken to an area hospital but didn’t survive.

Officers discovered on Leigh a note addressed to police, police sources said. The note’s contents were not immediately clear.

Leigh — a retired probation officer in Cook County, Ill. — had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was living with relatives in New York for the past three years while she underwent treatment, police sources said.

At the gruesome scene, police recovered two firearms — one found on the sidewalk and a second pistol was found in Leigh’s tote bag. Detectives were trying to determine if Leigh,used the guns on the job in Illinois.

The shooting took place two and a half blocks from Galloway’s apartment building, and less than a block away from Gracie Mansion, home to Mayor Adams.

Galloway worked for years as a special education teacher at a school in Ardsley, a village in Westchester County, and was an avid runner and long-time member of Central Park Track Club .

“She was a wonderful mother, a dedicated runner and a great friend to so many of us,” the track club group wrote in a statement posted to social media . “She had the biggest heart and touched everyone she met. She had also been a Fordham coach and was loved by all her athletes. She will be missed by the entire club.”

Fordham University said Galloway was a graduate and volunteered as an assistant track and field coach for 17 years until 2019.

The school said Galloway earned a bachelor of arts degree in 2001 and a master of science degree from the Fordham Graduate School of Education in 2005. She was also a high jumper for the Rams, and participated in sprints and relay teams, placing third in the high jump at the Metropolitan Championships in her senior year.

Residents at Galloway’s Upper East Side building described her as a “very sweet lady” and devoted mother to her two daughters.

“She was a very friendly, sweet woman. I would see her and say hello,” recalled one neighbor who gave his name as Allen, 85. “She liked to jog. She did the marathon I know several years in a row.”

Other residents remembered Galloway as plagued by Leigh’s son.

“She used to tell me, ‘I can’t get him out of my life’,” another friend, Meryl Fedelman, said about Galloway’s relationship with her ex. “It’s just terrible.”

Cops had been called to Galloway’s home four times between 2021 and 2022. All of the incidents involved arguments between Galloway, the 4-year-old’s father, and Leigh over visitation rights and other custody matters, Kenny said.

According to police sources, the child’s father reported bruising on the little girl in both April and August 2022, but both complaints were closed by ACS as unfounded. No arrests were made, Kenny said.

A custody case against Galloway was filed by Zachariah Reed on Aug. 20, 2021 in New York Supreme Court, according to a state court database. The last appearance was a settlement conference in December 2023, according to the database.

Law enforcement sources previously said the older daughter’s father had custody Friday to Monday, while Galloway had the girl the rest of the week. The shooting happened on a day the child was due to be with her dad.