Retired probation officer had mysterious note in her pocket when she killed ex-daughter-in-law in New York City

A retired probation officer, who shot and killed her ex-daughter-in-law on a ritzy street in New York, reportedly had a note in her pocket intended for one person.

A terminally ill retired probation officer who shot her ex-daughter-in-law on a ritzy Upper East Side street — before taking her own life — had a mysterious note in her pocket when she died, sources have told The New York Post.

The note had the words, “For Police” written on it, the source said.

It was found in shooter Kathleen Leigh’s pants after she shot and killed ex-daughter-in-law Marisa Galloway, on East 88th Street Friday morning local time. Police claim the shooting was sparked by a bitter custody feud involving Leigh’s granddaughter, and were unable to comment on the contents of the alleged note.

Police identified Marisa Galloway (above), 45, as the victim, and Kathleen Leigh, 65, as the shooter.

Leigh shot Galloway, pictured, in the head and again in her back once Galloway was on the ground.

According to The Post, Ms Galloway, 45, had just put her one-year-old daughter into the back seat of a parked white Honda Civic nearby to the shooting during an apparent custody switch-off when Leigh shot her in the head and back, cops said.

Leigh then took her own life. The baby was not harmed in the shooting.

Ms Galloway, a special-education teacher, was allegedly locked in a custody battle over the four-year-old girl she shared with Leigh’s son.

Leigh, a 65-year-old retired Illinois probation officer, had been battling terminal cancer and was living with her son on East 79th Street while she received treatment.

Leigh’s daughter declined to comment Saturday when reached by the Post.

The map of the area where the shooting happened.

The grandmother frequently complained to neighbours that Ms Galloway was abusing the four-year-old girl — an image which didn’t fit with descriptions offered by the younger woman’s neighbours of a caring, loving mother.

“She was so wonderful and she loved her kids,” one resident in Galloway’s East 86th Street apartment building told The Post, with tears streaming down her face.

Between July and November 2021, police took five domestic incidents reports involving Ms Galloway and her ex. The father complained in several reports that his daughter came home with bruises, according to sources.

Two led to Administration for Children’s Services complaints, and were later deemed unfounded, sources said.

The NYPD had reported on five domestic incidents in the custody dispute.

The two shared custody after they split, with the father having custody Friday through to Monday while Galloway had their daughter the rest of the week, sources said.

According to police, Leigh shot Ms Galloway once in the moments after she had loaded her younger daughter and a stroller into the car, fired another shot into her back while Ms Galloway laid on the ground. Leigh then took her own life, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said police observed on security footage.

Two handguns were recovered.

Leigh was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ms Galloway was rushed to a nearby medical centre, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission