On January 2, 2024, police in Gadsden, Alabama, responded to a reported shooting at a home and found 45-year-old Brandi Howell Whitt and her 9-year-old son, Brantley Alan Whitt, dead of gunshot wounds. The deaths are being treated as domestic violence that claimed both mother and child.

Authorities arrested Brandi’s older son and Brantley’s half-brother, 25-year-old Brandon Wagnon, and charged him with the murders. He was held without bond in the Etowah County Jail under the provisions of Aniah’s Law. Brandi was a 1995 graduate of Etowah High School who enjoyed hobbies, crafts, and floral design; friends set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses because neither she nor her son had life insurance.

Anyone who knew Brandi, Brantley, or has information about the events of January 2 is asked to come forward.