Family of New Albany mother killed by her ex-boyfriend releases balloons in her memory

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WAVE) – Friends and family gathered Saturday to pay their final respects to 25-year-old Kaitlynn Lee, a New Albany mother who was shot and killed in a friend's apartment.

Lee's relatives released balloons in her memory. The family said it was a way to celebrate her life with her three young children.

“We have to do this for her three babies that she left behind,” said Grace Seward, Lee's stepsister. “Everyone is supporting her, which I really appreciate, and this is not the end. We will keep fighting for her until we can't anymore.”

Lee was killed on the morning of August 10 when Joshua Thompson, the father of one of her children, shot her through a window at a friend's apartment.

A probable cause document released by the New Albany District Attorney's Office detailed the events in the moments leading up to the shooting.

Thompson called the police and confessed to killing her. He admitted that he had come to the apartment to see if Lee was there with other men, even though a restraining order had prohibited him from having contact with her.

In an interview with WAVE this week, Lee's aunt said Thompson had physically abused her in the past and that she had moved four times in three months to avoid him.

Lee's death sparked an important debate about domestic violence, and family members reported receiving an outpouring of support from across the country.

“I want to thank everyone. The community of New Albany, indeed the entire United States, who have fought for justice for Kaitlynn, and this is just a part of it,” said Charlotte Busam, a relative of Lee.

Friends and family wrote a final message on the balloons for Lee and left notes for her three children to help them remember their mother and how much she was loved by so many.

“Everyone sends a little message to the three children or to Kaitlynn that they can look at when they are old enough to understand what happened,” Busam said. “Something to remind them of who their mother really was and how much she was truly loved.”

Thompson is charged with murder, invasion of privacy, criminal recklessness and illegal carrying of a handgun.

He is being held without bail pending his trial, which is scheduled for March 24.

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