Content warning: This article describes intimate partner violence. Please take care while reading.
After the shocking double-murder-suicide that left Heaven Glisson, her ex-fiancé Donald Bryant, and neighbor Daylon Bradford dead in Independence, Kentucky, questions are mounting about whether police could have prevented the tragedy.
The earlier incident
On September 19, 2025, just two days before the incident, the Independence Police Department (IPD) responded to Glisson’s apartment for what law enforcement described as an “emotional crisis call.” Glisson’s family and Glisson herself reported that her ex-fiancé, Bryant, who law enforcement says later fatally shot Glisson’s neighbor, Bradford (33), Glisson, and then himself, was at her apartment with a knife, threatening self-harm, and refusing to leave.
When officers arrived, IPD says they spoke with both parties. Police Chief Brian Ferayorni later said Bryant did not make threats of violence toward Glisson, 24, just himself. Reports say Bryant admitted he threatened to harm himself but denied he had a knife.
Police noted that Bryant, 34, could not be arrested for criminal trespass at that time because, under Kentucky law, simple trespass at a private residence isn’t automatically arrestable unless additional legal thresholds are met. According to the IPD, the situation did not meet that threshold, as Bryant “made no threats toward [Glisson] in the officers’ presence,” and only threatened himself, which was relayed to law enforcement secondhand.
At that time, officers advised Glisson to pursue a protective order and provided resources. They left once Bryant agreed to go. Glisson, who shared a child with Bryant, had broken off their engagement and moved to the apartment complex to get away from Bryant. She also confided in a relative about his abuse.
The night of the shootings
Two days later, around 11:20 p.m., on September 21, IPD were dispatched again to Glisson’s apartment, this time after reports of gunfire. When they arrived, they found Bradford, Glisson’s neighbor, who tried to help when he heard a struggle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Bradford died at the hospital the next morning. Reports say the exact nature of Glisson and Bradford’s relationship has not yet been determined.
According to witnesses, the suspected shooter, Bryant, then forced Glisson into nearby woods at gunpoint. Police say they quickly established a perimeter and deployed K-9 units, drones, and a SWAT team to track the pair. Around 3 a.m., drones and dogs detected heat signatures in the woods. Officers then discovered the bodies of Bryant and Glisson, both dead from gunshot wounds in what investigators determined was a murder-suicide.
As news spread online of the double-murder-suicide, social media claimed no IPD officers entered the wooded area until shots were heard, and if they had, they might have saved lives. Chief. Ferayorni refuted this, saying, “It is being reported that not a single police officer went into the woods until after the gunshots were heard in the woods; this is untrue. Officers were in the area actively looking for the suspect since arriving on scene …”
The IPD has emphasized that its officers followed both policy and state law, and that the tragic outcome was not due to law enforcement inaction. They note that the case remains under active investigation. “I just wish there was something I could have done differently to get her away from him,” meaning Bryant, Glisson’s father, David Wilson, told local news outlet WKRC. “And she could have listened. It hurts.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, immediate help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers confidential support 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 or through their website at thehotline.org.
