Photo: Lee County Sheriff's Office
Too little, too late.
By Rebecca Jane Stokes — Written on Jun 19, 2019
The course of true love never did run smooth...and the course of hate? Why that little sucker's been pretty darn bumpy since the get go. It's funny how often love can transform into hate, but most intense emotions do change instead of leaving a person altogether. This is something one family found out the hard way when their marriage hit the rocks.
Brandyn Paonessa was killed by a shot to the stomach. His erstwhile wife, Brittnay Paonessa is being held and charged with his murder. Who are these people and what happened to bring them to this moment? Here's what we know so far. Who is Brittnay Paonessa?
1. What Happened
Local affiliate WTVM reports that 26-year-old Army sergeant Brandyn Lloyd Paonessa was found shot in the stomach in the front yard of a home believed to be his own. Authorities made their way to the scene as quickly as they could with every intention of doing whatever was possible to stablize Brandyn, but they were met with a frightening scene.
The EMTs and the other authorities who arrived performed every life saving measure they could think of to help stop the bleeding and to help keep Brandyn in the world of the living for as long as they could. Tragically, it wasn't meant to be and the young man who should have had the entire world ahead of him was pronounced dead on the scene.
2. The Arrest
Brandyn's estranged wife, 27-year-old Brittnay Ryals Paonessa, was almost immediately arrested following the death of her one time forever love. The two have a long and complicated history together, as well as several children. They have three kids, one of whom is a child of Brittnay's from a previous marriage, another is just a baby who isn't even yet 2-months-old.
So what could drive a woman, a young mother at that, to do something as dramatic and wicked as shooting and killing her own husband in the stomach and leaving him to die? Well, in the case of Brandyn and Brittnay, the story was a dark one and Brandyn's death may have hinged upon recent court filings he made against his wife and the mother of his children.
3. The Lawsuit
You see, the relationship between Brandyn and Brittnay was contentious and the acrimony between them went far beyond what you usually see in divorce cases. According to court filings, Brandyn filed for an order of emergency protection for abuse from Brittnay. That's right, he took out a restraining order against his wife, and that's not even the most damning piece of evidence against her.
The court's own records indicate that Brandyn filed this restraining order against Brittnay just three days before he was killed. Coincidence? That seems very unlikely. In the forms that Brandyn submitted to support his request for a restraining order, he referred to his wife as being very unstable and very mentally ill, having refused treatment when it was offered to her (again, those are his claims).
4. Legal Troubles
According to records that were made available through the work of AL.com, the couple's love life has always been rocky. That makes sense, after all, things like this don't just happen out of nowhere. Or at least, that's rarely the case. You see, it turns out that Brittnay isn't the only member of the family who has been charged with violence in this case.
The court records indicated that Brandyn punched Brittnay in the stomach and was arrested on charges of domestic violence. Brandyn said that the assault erupted after he learned that Brittnay went through his cellphone without his permission. Later on, she dropped the charges against her husband. But it's clear that problems were developing.
5. What Next?
Currently Brittnay is being held in jail on a bond of $150,000 while she awaits more news about her trial. No word on who is taking care of her kiddos, but this certainly can't be an easy time for anyone in the family.
As an army man, it was Fort Benning where he was stationed. They issued a statement confirming Brendyn's death:
“The Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Sgt. Brandyn Lloyd Paonessa, 26, of Smith’s Station, Alabama. Paonessa was assigned to Task Force 1-28, 3rd Infantry Division. He died June 13 in Lee County, Alabama. Paonessa, an infantryman (11B), joined the Army in September 2013 and had two overseas combat deployments to Afghanistan. The cause of his death remains under investigation.”
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.