MORROW COUNTY, Ohio — During an exclusive jailhouse interview, Brain Lee confessed to shooting and killing Brandon Petty and Linda Vannatta in Morrow County.
Sheriff John Hinton said the shootings happened on Monday around 4:25 a.m. in Harmony Township.
Police arrested Lee Monday in a Columbus backyard after a manhunt where the 39-year-old drove at excessive speeds of up to 120 miles per hour to avoid getting arrested.
Lee is charged with two counts of murder and told 10TV he wants to die for his crimes.
The family of Brandon Petty said Petty had his demons, but he was a good man.
His son, Brandon Petty Jr. spoke about his father.
“He taught me so many…so many things before this left turn that he took. I will dearly miss him for the rest of my life,” said Petty Jr.
“He was a great father, a great husband…and he would do anything, he would give his shirt off his back for any of his friends,” said Amber Petty, Brandon’s ex-wife.
The two were married for 17 years. They divorced four years ago after Amber said he got mixed in with the wrong crowd.
Her heart hurts most for her two children not having a father.
“My daughter sat there and looked at me the other day and she’s like, what am I going to do without my dad…and she cries and sits there and says he took my daddy,” Amber said.
Lee said the killings were in self-defense and he was threatened.
During the interview, Lee said he regrets not turning himself in.