On May 3, 2023, 44-year-old Brandy Ann Lawless was fatally shot outside her home on Sunset Avenue in Cincinnati’s West Price Hill neighborhood. Responding officers found her with a gunshot wound to the chest; she was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where she later died.

Lawless was a mother of two and an advocate for people recovering from addiction. After overcoming her own struggles, she became program director at the House of Freedom and Miracles in 2018 and was widely respected for her work supporting others through recovery. Police say the day before the shooting an incident occurred in which Lawless broke a man’s car window with a bat, and the next day that man exited his vehicle and shot her. The suspect, 23-year-old Zachary Barnhorst, was arrested the day after the killing and initially charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Lawless’s death has been described as a profound loss by those she helped and by community members who knew her work. If anyone knew Brandy, her movements that week, or has information about the case, please come forward.