On the morning of September 8, 2018, a custody exchange in a Walmart parking lot in Alexandria, Louisiana, ended in deadly violence. Thomas Coutee Jr., 30, was shot in the chest during the meeting arranged for his two-year-old daughter’s birthday and died at the scene despite first responders’ efforts.

Coutee and his estranged wife had separated in February 2018 and were embroiled in a heated divorce and custody dispute; Coutee had recently filed a motion for a new trial in the joint custody ruling and alleged a history of domestic abuse by his wife. Around 11:15 a.m., Kayla Jean Giles, then 31, met Coutee for the exchange. Giles fired one shot; she was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder. Giles claimed self-defense, saying Coutee lunged into her vehicle, but prosecutors disputed that account. Her oldest daughter testified she did not see a lunge.

A jury later rejected the self-defense claim and convicted Giles of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. Did anyone witness the custody exchanges or know about tensions between the couple leading up to that day?