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An avid runner who lived on the Upper East Side in New York City, Marisa Galloway was known to her friends, family and fellow run club members for her kindness, generosity, encouragement – and her unwavering devotion to her young daughters.
So when the 45-year-old was gunned down in a murder-suicide in July, her life cut short so suddenly, her loved ones were left stunned and devastated.
Just weeks later, as Marisa’s family and friends attempt to grieve a loss that is still raw, a hostile custody battle over her youngest child is alleged to be the motive.
Marisa, a special education teacher, had just loaded her daughter into a parked white Honda Civic on East 88th Street near York Avenue at about 8:50 a.m. on July 26 when Kathleen Leigh, 65, the mother of her ex-boyfriend, shot and killed her.
Leigh, an ex-Chicago probation officer who had terminal cancer, then turned the gun on herself.
The tragic murder-suicide was part of a twisted plot to get her son Zachariah Reed full custody of the four-year-old daughter, Lili, he shared with Galloway, according to a new lawsuit filed by Galloway’s parents this week and viewed by The Independent.
Nancy and John Galloway claim in the lawsuit that Reed fled the Tri-State with Lili to his “multimillion-dollar home” in Chicago, preventing them from seeing or talking to their grandchild.
The heartbroken grandparents, who have a close bond with Lili, currently have custody of Marisa’s youngest daughter, Mariel, age one, who was conceived via a sperm donor.
This week, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Katz has ordered Reed to return to the city for an in-person hearing, which is set to take place on September 5.
A twisted murder plot
Heartbreaking details were laid out in the grandparents’ emergency filing from Friday that described their relationship with their granddaughter and the child’s bond with her younger sister.
“Clearly, [Reed’s] mother had a deliberate plan to kill Marisa in order to provide custody for her son,” the filing alleges. “Unfortunately, [Reed] has demonstrated an absolute intention to further those same goals of his mother as he has refused to provide us with any access to Lili at all in almost 3 weeks.”
In the filing, the grandparents asked a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to pass Marisa’s parenting time to them. The parenting time split between Marisa and Reed was previously decided in a 2022 custody agreement.
The grandparents, who currently live in Cape May, New Jersey, also demanded that Reed live in New York City until Lili is 18 years old so that they can continue their close relationship with her.
“When we did not see [Lili], we would Facetime almost every day,” Nancy Galloway wrote in the filing, explaining that they had a “hands on” relationship with the child and saw her two to three times a month, often for multiple nights at a time.
She wrote about how Lili and her grandfather John love gardening and would water the flowers and pick tomatoes together.
But since the death of their daughter, the grandparents said they haven’t even been able to chat with Lili by phone.
The continuous custody battle has been ongoing since 2021, according to a state court database.
Police sources told The New York Daily News that police were called to Marisa’s home four times between 2021 and 2022.
The incidents were all arguments among Marisa, Reed and Leigh over visitation rights and other custody matters, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Reed, who lived near Marisa while he took care of his terminally ill mother, had also alleged that his daughter had come home in 2022 with bruises. An investigation later found the accusations to be unfounded and no arrests were made, Kenny said.
Marisa’s Legacy
The death of Marisa Galloway has shattered the lives of her loved ones.
She was a “hero” to her cousin Marc Bellanger who wrote on Facebook that she was the most “compassionate, caring and selfless person” that he had ever met.
“She lived for her daughters and they brought her nothing but joy,” he said in the tribute, adding that “Marisa’s passing has rocked her friends and family to the core, but her memory and legacy will live on in her amazing daughters, who will always carry her light.”
Bellanger created a GoFundMe page to help ensure Marisa’s parents have the resources they need to support her legacy, he wrote.
“Marisa Galloway touched everyone she met,” the page read. “Her kindness, generosity, and love were unparalleled. She devoted her whole life to her two beautiful daughters...they were her world. 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.”
The campaign has so far raised over $120,000.
Central Park Track Club, where Marisa was a long time member and advisory board member, honored her last month with a race dedicated to her memory.
The club described Galloway as “a great friend to many of us,” according to a social media post.
“She was a wonderful mother, a dedicated runner and a great friend to so many of us. 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.”
Alysia Dusseau, 41, who is also a member of the board, told The New York Daily News that her generosity was legendary.
“One thing that stood out the most about Marisa, she would always wish me luck in races and then reach out and see how I was feeling after, which not everyone did,” Dusseau said.
The two women met in 2010, were part of a group that gathered to run together during the height of the pandemic in an effort to battle isolation.
On August 11, Sean Duncan ran a half marathon – and it was all for Marisa.
“Today, after an almost 11 year hiatus, I laced up my running shoes and threw on an incredibly short pair of running shorts and ran a half marathon. I would definitely not have done this or trained for it, if it weren’t for my dear friend Marisa Galloway. Thank you for continuing to inspire me, encourage me, and push me,” he wrote in a post on Facebook.
In a previous tribute, Duncan had written that Marisa was the only person he cared to run with and that he runs because of her. He also recalled how they had known each other their whole lives, and through many milestones.
“You taught me how to drive, how to act like a 21 year old when I was sneaking into bars at 19, and how to navigate NYC’s amazing public transportation system,” he wrote. “Your classroom was also the first one I ever observed when I decided to follow your lead and become a teacher.”
Duncan gushed over how Marisa “nailed” being a friend and always made time to keep in touch with her loved ones who he said were fortunate enough to call her their friend.
“My heart aches knowing that you had so much left to live for,” he wrote.
“You deserved so much better. Your friends and family deserved to have you in our lives. Most importantly, your babies deserved to have you as their mother for many many many years. I will do whatever I can to make sure they know who you were.”
