Background: News footage of the apartment complex in Baton Rouge, La. where Kayelyn Ford was shot (WAFB). Inset (left): Brandon Bell (East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Kayelyn Ford (Facebook).
A Louisiana man was lying in wait in the woods for his ex-girlfriend to leave her apartment after sheriff’s deputies told her he was not inside.
Brandon Bell, 24, has been accused by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend, Kayelyn Ford, 22, after he ambushed her at her apartment. According to an affidavit obtained by CBS affiliate WAFB, Ford had called police during the early morning hours on Monday because she feared that he was attempting to get inside her apartment with an old key. Sheriff’s deputies responded to the call and searched her apartment for Bell, but he was not inside, and Ford was told the apartment was clear.
Ford reportedly told the deputies that she and a friend were going to stay somewhere else. However, Bell was allegedly waiting for her nearby.
According to WAFB’s reporting on the affidavit, Bell came out of the woods shortly after the deputies left and Ford exited her apartment. He then allegedly shot her and then turned the gun on himself.
Ford was pronounced dead at the scene. Bell was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office stated that Bell was not expected to survive.
WAFB reported that Bell had a history of domestic violence accusations, including one with an unnamed victim in April. The Baton Rouge Police Department stated that during the alleged incident in April, Bell and the unnamed alleged victim got into a verbal argument that became physical. That victim reportedly told police that she asked Bell to leave her apartment after he “broke a promise.”
Bell was arrested and booked into custody after the April incident and granted a $1,000 bond.
Ford reportedly had a protective order against Bell, who was forbidden from being within 100 yards of her.
