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Advertisement Man charged with murder in death of Middletown mom found with baby in car Brittany Russell found shot to death in Dayton Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A man has been charged in the shooting death of a Middletown mom who was found dead in a car with a baby in the back seat.Dayton police said Brandon Carr, 34, is charged with one count of murder in connection to Brittany Russell's death.Watch this storyCarr was located and arrested without incident at 45 S. Halloway Street near downtown Dayton."We were able to contact him at the door and take him into custody," Sgt. Rick Blommel said. "He was brought down to the safety building and he was interviewed and then taken over to the Montgomery County Jail and booked on the charge of murder."According to the Montgomery County Jail, no bond has been set.Russell, 29, was found shot to death in her car on Feb. 10 in the 4100 block of Free Pike in Dayton, police said.Russell's 6-month-old baby girl, Haven, was found alive and unharmed in the back seat. Police said the car had been left running with the heat on."'How low can you be to shoot someone with a baby in the car?' That was Brittany's pride and joy," Tracey Shortpence said.Shortpence is a close family friend of Haven's father, Chris Edwards, said he treats Haven like a niece and knew Brittany well."I feel like Brittany is smiling down on us, I do. I feel like she's smiling down on us because, you know, when we heard that today, it was like, we just couldn't believe it," Shortpence said.On Feb. 9, Edwards contacted Middletown police to report his daughter was missing.According to police, Russell did not have custody of her child, Haven. She took the child from a babysitter and promised to return her later that day.Dayton police have not commented on a possible connection between Carr and Russell.Detectives are scheduled to meet with the Montgomery County prosecutor Thursday morning.