Deanna J. Christen, 50, was found dead in her Clarence, New York, home the morning of June 18, 2026, after Erie County deputies responded to a 911 call shortly before 3 a.m. Deputies discovered she had sustained a fatal gunshot wound; the scene on Sheridan Drive drew numerous police vehicles and crime scene tape in a neighborhood residents described as quiet.

The investigation quickly focused on her husband, 55-year-old Michael C. Brown, who was taken into custody at the scene and arrested by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. Brown was charged with Murder in the Second Degree, arraigned in Clarence Town Court, pleaded not guilty, and was ordered held without bail at the Erie County Holding Center. The Erie County District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau and Domestic Violence Bureau are prosecuting; the maximum sentence alleged is 25 years to life if convicted. A felony hearing was scheduled in the days after the arraignment and the Sheriff’s Office investigation remains ongoing.

Neighbors recalled hearing yelling from the couple’s home about a week before the killing but did not expect violence. Does anyone who knew Deanna or the couple have information that could help the investigation?