Pennsylvania

Man Convicted of Killing Ex-Wife During Custody Exchange Inside Wawa Store

Brian Kennedy, 37, was found guilty of first-degree murder following 30 minutes of jury deliberations on Thursday.

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A man was convicted of shooting and killing his ex-wife during a scheduled custody exchange inside a Delaware County Wawa store nearly four years ago.

Brian Kennedy, 37, was found guilty of first-degree murder following 30 minutes of jury deliberations on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Delaware County District Attorney's Office told NBC10 they were unsure of when sentencing would take place but that Kennedy would receive a mandatory life in prison without parole.

On March 28, 2019, Kennedy walked into a Wawa store on 151 Sugartown Road in Radnor Township and used an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to kill his 37-year-old ex-wife Stephanie Miller while others were inside.

Kennedy shot her "at point blank range" in the head and stomach, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

"With an ArmaLite 15, he brutally murdered the mother of his child in a public place in cold blood, placing numerous others at risk. He then cowardly fled the area," Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said.

A witness flagged down a Radnor Township Police officer and reported that shots were fired inside the Wawa. At the same time, police received multiple calls reporting a woman had been shot at least twice inside the store by a man armed with a rifle.

A cashier at the store told police that when Kennedy arrived, he appeared "agitated," had a "stern" look on his face and "said nothing," according to the affidavit.

Officers entered the store and found Miller's body.

"This is a classic case of what can happen in situations regarding domestic abuse and violence and the use of firearms," Copeland said.

Several witnesses were inside the store at the time of the shooting. They told police a gunman in black clothing ran out of the store and fled the scene in a black BMW.

Multiple agencies searched for Kennedy and the road was closed off near the scene of the shooting. A SWAT Team and Pennsylvania State Police troopers eventually found him in Thornbury Park in Glen Mills, investigators said.

He was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center for what police determined to be a drug overdose, according to the affidavit.

"It is very important for the community to know, although we did have a tragedy, that it is over," Radnor Twp. Police Superintendent Christopher Flanagan said. "It is safe and the subject is in custody."

They also say they found his weapon.

In 2016, Kennedy was arrested by Radnor Township Police after threatening to kill Miller at the same Wawa store in which the fatal shooting took place, the affidavit said.

Miller had previously been granted a protective order against her ex-husband, but it expired in September of 2018, the district attorney said. Kennedy was scheduled to exchange the couple's child at the store, but he apparently arrived alone, Copeland said.

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