Apparent custody dispute ends in shooting death of Cincinnati woman

A 21-year-old Washington Court House man is in jail on a charge of aggravated murder in the shooting of a Cincinnati woman that appears to stem from a custody dispute over their infant, the Fayette County Sheriff's Office said.

Joseph Brown was apprehended when deputies caught up with him at the Pine Tree Apartment complex on Joanne Drive in northeast Fayette County.

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Deputies were dispatched after phone calls to the sheriff's office that a man shot a woman. The man, identified as Brown, had the firearm on him as he walked out the front door of an apartment in Building 16 at the complex, according to the sheriff's office.

When deputies learned Brown was the suspected gunman, more deputies and detectives were called. They searched the area and found Lilliana M. Null, also 20, of Cincinnati. Her body was behind Building 15 at the complex.

She had been shot multiple times, according to the sheriff's office, and was pronounced dead there by the Fayette County Coroner’s Office. A witness in Null's vehicle and the infant child of Brown and Null was not harmed.

The preliminary investigation indicates that Brown and Null recently separated and she reportedly was bringing their child to the residence for visitation.

Fayette County Children’s Services now has custody.

Brown was taken to the Fayette County Jail where he is being detained on a charge of aggravated murder. He is to be arraigned Tuesday Washington Court House Municipal Court.