GoFundMe launched for Marisa Galloway after murder-suicide
The grieving loved ones of a mom of two shot dead by her ex-mother-in-law launched a GoFundMe page Saturday to help her orphaned daughters.
The online fundraiser will be used for the “expenses and legacy” of Marisa Galloway, who was gunned down by ex-Chicago probation officer Kathleen Leigh amid a bitter custody battle over Galloway’s toddler.
The “Honor Marisa Galloway: Support Her Legacy” effort raised about $10,000 of its $50,000 goal within the first four hours of its launch.
“Marisa Galloway touched everyone she met. Her kindness, generosity, and love were unparalleled,” the GoFundMe states.
“She devoted her whole life to her two beautiful daughters, Lili and Mariel…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 fundraiser continues.
The tragedy unfolded on a quiet Upper East Side street Friday during what appeared to be a custody switch-off.
Galloway, a 45-year-old special education teacher, had just loaded her 1-year-old daughter into the backseat of a parked white Honda Civic when Leigh blasted her in the head and back before turning the gun on herself, cops said.
“She took away the child’s mother in order to make her son happy … it’s shocking,” a law-enforcement source said. “I’ve seen a lot of s–t but this is biblical s–t.”
According to police, Leigh’s son had been living with her in her East 79th Street apartment while she underwent treatment for her terminal cancer diagnosis.
The father had custody of his and Galloway’s 4-year-old daughter Friday through Monday, while Galloway had their daughter the rest of the week, sources told The Post.
Leigh had suspicions that Galloway — a former volunteer coach at Fordham University and a board member of the Central Park Track Club — was abusive to the toddler.
Galloway and her ex had a long trail of police-reported domestic incidents that spanned from July 2021 through November.