As a mother and a grandmother, Patricia Green had gone through an experience that no one should ever have to deal with. It started out like a normal day. She was heading home to her apartment in Brownsville in the morning when she realized the door was locked. She thought this was odd, so she knocked, but no one answered. There was no sign that anyone had tried to break in, so he opened the door with her key and some something that was ultimately, life altering.
Her husband, Loyd Drain Jr., 57, her son, Terrance Briggs, 27, her other son, Loyd Drain III, 16, and her granddaughter, LayLay, had been shot in the head and their corpses were all over the three-bedroom apartment. She also noticed a gun and a lot of bullet casings littered on the floor. After recovering from the emotional shock, Green managed to grab her phone and dial 911.
A neighbor had heard approximately ten gunshots about three hours before Green arrived and discovered the bodies of her four family members. Authorities found 57-year-old Drain in the bathroom on the toilet. His son was apparently playing video games when he had been shot to death. Briggs and his daughter were in one of the bedrooms, while LayLay was in bed. Meanwhile, the child’s father rested between the wall and the bed. What kind of monster would do this?
It appeared that Briggs had flinched when he pressed the gun against his head, at least that was the theory based on the direction of the bullets. Cops felt that the motive wasn’t clear. Briggs didn’t leave a suicide note. So detectives would have to review the crime scene carefully. A detailed forensic review of the bullet wounds and interviews with neighbors and relatives would likely help them piece together what had occurred. But cops had a fairly good theory.
Green couldn’t believe what had happened and was overwhelmed with grief when she saw the scene. She had lost four family members in a few hours. One neighbor said, “She was very upset and crying. It’s a horrible scene.” One of Green’s grandkids added, “What would make anyone want to kill a 1-year-old? She’s taking it very hard. She only has one son left.” Now everyone wants to know what could have motivated someone to do something so horrific.
A high-ranking police source reportedly claimed that Briggs may have gone over the edge after a breakup with his daughter’s mom, Olivia Callender. She apparently wanted nothing to do with him despite the fact that he wanted to reconcile with Callender. “He wanted to get back together with her for the baby’s sake,” claimed the high-ranking police source. “She must have said no. He told her he was depressed because somebody in his family had died.”
Callender had been enjoying an overnight gambling trip when the horrible deaths went down. When she returned home, her world was gone. At a prayer vigil outside the Riverdale Osborne Towers in Brownsville, she wailed, “My baby! My baby. She’s gone. She’s not coming back. My Laylay. Oh my God.” She cried hysterically from the agony. But there are other theories that suggest that something else could have pushed Briggs to take the extreme actions he took.
One report indicates that Briggs might have lost it after getting into a fight with his stepdad. This made sense given that cops had been called to the home numerous times in the past. Since the last incident, it was reported that years ago, Briggs had made violent threats. In 2005, Briggs pointed a gun at his stepdad and told them that he’d kill the entire family. But what did the neighbors think about this deeply disturbed individual?
Neighbors claimed that the family argued a lot, especially Briggs and his stepdad. But they all agreed that nothing could have alerted them to him doing this. But a few neighbors believed that Mr. Briggs was troubled and was suffering from schizophrenia. To make things worse, he had gone off his meds recently because of the side effects. Brigg’s dad, Tyrone Briggs, 56, was stunned by the loss of his granddaughter, and he couldn’t understand why his son did what he did. All he could say was, “He just lost his marbles.”
People close to the family claimed that Green and Drain had the “the perfect marriage” and that the entire family was warm and friendly. James Walker, who lived on the opposite end of the floor from the family said, “This is a shocking thing to me. They were friendly people — nothing bad about them.” Vanessa Swain, who’s another devastated neighbor, added, “It breaks my heart to see them gone. Waking up 7 o’clock to someone telling me all of them are gone. My heart is so numb right now.”
Mr. Drain, who was known as “Big Daddy,” was said to have been extremely generous and outgoing. He held cookouts on the edge of Nehemiah Park across from the complex. He would sit outside a beat up blue van, grilling and chatting with his neighbors. Kathy Lindo, who lives down the hall from the family, said, “He would be there all summer long feeding everybody’s kids.” The elder Mr. Drain also had a very clean past.
A tearful neighbor said, “He was a retired transit worker. He was in the military, and he was one of the sweetest guys you can ever come into contact with. He would help anybody. He would give the shirt off his back, man.” Another neighbor who lived on the opposite end of the floor added, “This is a shocking thing to me. They were friendly people — nothing bad about them.”
Teen Drain attended Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He was a junior but was taking five advance placement courses in United States history, research and communication, environmental science, English, and calculus. He also led the school’s cooking club, so his friends were devastated by the news. His friend, Juan Campos, 15, said, “He was humble, smart and he only focused on basketball and school and his family members. He wanted to play basketball. He wanted to go to college and make his family proud.”
Grief counselors were on hand at the school to help staff members and students deal with the tragedy. School spokeswoman, Barbara Martinez, said, “Our school community is devastated by this senseless loss of human life. We are grieving and ensuring that our students and staff have access to counseling at this difficult time.” Meanwhile, authorities are trying to figure out what led to this senseless tragedy while they themselves cope with the traumatic scene.
Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, the commanding officer of Brooklyn North, said, “In the nature of this business, we deal with death and tragic scenes, but when it involves an infant it’s extremely tough.” While a prayer vigil held outside Riverdale Osborne Towers won’t undo what’s been done, it may bring some peace and comfort to a community that is still reeling from the terrible events and help everyone to move past this senseless and ultimately, tragic crime.