A Louisiana man is accused of killing his wife and propping her body up in the passenger seat of his car and driving through multiple states before he was arrested in Tennessee, according to authorities.
Tyronne Brazille, 50, was pulled over by police in Memphis for a traffic violation on Thursday when officers found the lifeless body of his wife, Lanessa Bradford, 50, in the passenger seat of his vehicle with a gunshot wound, WREG reported.
A longtime friend of the woman, Shelicka Decker, told the outlet that the couple had been married for years and Bradford was planning to leave Brazille.
"She had the money saved up. She had come up with a plan, and she was going to just vanish. That was the only way she would be able to get away from him," Decker said. "She was going to leave her car, she was going to leave all the things behind, and she had been in touch with her family that was out of town, and that’s how she was going to make this move to get away."
But before Bradford had the chance to leave, investigators allege Brazille shot and killed her during an argument at Independence Community Park in Baton Rouge, according to investigators, WREG reported.
Investigators said Brazille drove through several states with his wife's body in the vehicle before he was stopped in Memphis. He was taken into custody in Memphis as a fugitive.
"I have so many questions, like, what were you doing in the car with her that amount of time while she was deceased," Decker said. "Where was his mind at during that ride? It’s so crazy and heartbreaking."
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Decker said Bradford had told her that Brazille threatened to kill himself or Bradford when she discussed leaving him, but Decker said she never believed he would actually follow through.
"He never put his hands on her up until recently, like maybe like two or three months ago," Decker said. "It wouldn’t have surprised me if someone had called and said that he killed himself because he always says this. It surprised me that he killed her."
Decker said Bradford worked at an elementary school in Baton Rouge, and the school asked police to conduct a welfare check at her home after she missed a few days of work.
"It’s such an unfortunate situation, like everybody, she was such a good person. Everybody, she uplifted a lot of people, a lot of parents," Decker said. "My prayers are with her family and friends as well as his, because we were all friends. We all, you know, hung around each other, and this is just not the same person that we grew up with."
Brazille is scheduled to appear in court on Monday as he awaits extradition to Louisiana.
Police said Brazille is expected to face a murder charge after extradition in connection with Bradford’s death.