Pastor Brandon Parker, the 33-year-old man who was reportedly shot dead by his 48-year-old girlfriend on Saturday, was the grandson of iconic singer and songwriter Otis Redding.
Redding was known for hits such as "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" and "Try A Little Tenderness." He passed away on December 10, 1967 in a plane crash in Monona, Wisconsin but remains a legendary figure in music. He was only 26 years at the time.
His son Dexter was Parker's father. Parker and his girlfriend Tracia Hubbard went to a restaurant in downtown Macon on Saturday and had reportedly been arguing until they returned to Hubbard's house at 739 Grosso Ave., where she lived with her mother.
Hubbard allegedly took out a .380 caliber revolver from her car and fired at Parker. She tried to administer CPR to Parker, but to no avail.
When police arrived at the scene, Hubbard was found kneeling beside Parker, who suffered from a gunshot wound to his neck. Hubbard's niece Joslyn Clayton said her aunt and Parker had a history of violence between them.
"There was actually a history of domestic abuse that a lot of people didn't know about," Clayton said. "She (Hubbard) had broken bones and was on crutches a couple of months ago after he (Parker) pushed her off a porch."
But Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones, who knows both Parker and Hubbard, said that he knew nothing of their physical altercations. "They must have kept it under wraps," Jones said. "I didn't hear anything until Brandon was dead."
Clayton added that Hubbard had been trying to save Parker's life when the police showed up. "Deputies on the scene administered CPR to the victim who was unresponsive. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene," the police said in a statement.
