27-year-old man sentenced to 20 years for death of 58-year-old woman
BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (WISH) — A 27-year-old Jackson County man on Thursday was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of a 58-year-old woman in 2021, the sheriff’s department says.
Brady A. Parrish from the unincorporated community of Norman pleaded guilty in Jackson Circuit Court to the voluntary manslaughter of Lisha Branum of rural Seymour. Parrish initially had also been charged with murder, but that charge was dropped as he agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
The sheriff’s department said in a news release issued Thursday, “Initially, the investigation was hampered by personal investigation conducted by a civilian close to Branum. The personal investigation greatly lengthened the investigation and ultimately weakened the case.”
Deputies found Branum dead Nov. 10, 2021, in a home in a wooded area in the 400 block of West County Road 1050 North, which is about a 20-minute drive northwest of the city of Seymour.
An autopsy later determined she’d died of gunshot wounds to the back, the release says. Investigators later determined she’d died a couple days before her body was found.
Months after the body was found, the Indiana State Police Lab found Parrish’s DNA on the shotgun shell casing.
Cellphone records and doorbell video helped investigators determine Parrish had taken a 12-gauge shotgun to Branum’s home, and shortly afterward left for Kansas City, Missouri.
Parrish was arrested Aug. 30, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. He’s remained in the Jackson County jail since his extradition on Sept. 20, 2022.
The release did not discuss a motive for the crime.
