‘How do you pick up the pieces’: Wife struggling to cope after father of 4 killed in yard

Four days after a father of four was found dead in the backyard of his Columbus home, his loved ones are coping with the pain of living their lives without him.

“They have no clue what they did and how much impact they’ve made when they took him from us like that,” said Tadaisha Braxton, who was married to the 35-year-old victim for nearly seven months. “They took a whole lot when they did.”

Lonny Braxton’s neighbor told Columbus police she thought he was sleeping when she saw him lying in his backyard of his Clover Avenue home around 2 a.m. Saturday. She didn’t report the incident until she returned from work around 8 a.m. and saw that he was still lying there unresponsive, authorities said.

Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan said it appears Lonny was shot around 9 p.m. Friday. Another neighbor reported hearing gunshots around that time.

Tadaisha said she fainted when she learned that her husband was dead. It took her back to the conversation she had with Lonny on Sept. 28. The two were talking about their plans to leave Columbus and start a new life elsewhere.

“How do you pick up the pieces and go on when that wasn’t the plan,” Tadaisha said. “The plan was that he was going to always be with me. We were going to do it together as a family.”

Lonny’s loved ones are left with the memories of a man they described as a caring person who enjoyed music, dancing and watching movies. He was one of seven siblings and a father of four boys whose ages range from 1 to 15.

“A lot of fathers always want to show their boys strength, but he never had a problem showing affection to his boys,” said Tadaisha, who described the victim as a role model to many. “He was always hugging them and giving them kisses.”

Tadaisha said it was her husband’s love for God that made him such a great protector of his family. He would often time encourage his sister to do things she feared.

“It’s stuff I would have never tried or learned if that had not been my brother,” said Latrinna, one of his three sisters. “His presence is the reason I am who I am today.”

While their days have been filled with pain, his family has shared some laughs and smiles reminiscing about their best moments with Lonny.

“In the midst of the tears, there has been laughter as we look at these pictures of him and remember how he was growing up in school and all the jokes and crazy things he would get into because that was him,” Latrinnia said. “He was a positive person.”

With no arrests in connection with Lonny’s death, the family is left with many unanswered questions. Officials have not named any suspects, but Tadaisha said she forgives anyone who was involved.

Tamika Tate, Lonny’s sister-in-law, asks that anyone with information come forward and ditch the no-snitching culture in the community.

“There is no way we are going to have closure without knowing that the person or people responsible have been brought to justice, whatever justice looks like,” Latrinnia said.

Anyone with information about the shooting or Lonny’s actions 24 hours prior to the shooting is encouraged to call Sgt. Daniel Lyon at 706-225-4422 or email him at dlyon@columbusga.org.

This story was originally published October 4, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "‘How do you pick up the pieces’: Wife struggling to cope after father of 4 killed in yard."