A Jackson County man accused of murdering a Seymour woman in November of 2021 recently agreed to plead guilty to a Level 2 felony charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The sentencing hearing for Brady Allen Parrish, 27, of Norman is set for 2 p.m. March 28 in Jackson Circuit Court in Brownstown. His trial on the charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter by knowingly or intentionally killing a person by someone acting under sudden heat had been set for Feb. 5.

The murder charge would be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Brady was arrested Sept. 20, 2022, 10 months after 58-year-old Lisha A. “Lee” Branum had been found dead at her home in the 400 block of West County Road 1050N.

The cause of death was recorded as gunshot wounds to the back, police said.

According to the probable cause affidavit signed by county Detective J.L. McElfresh, the investigation started with a few leads that led to multiple interviews and numerous search warrants and the eventual arrest of Parrish, Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer said.

Two acquaintances of Parrish told investigators they drove Parrish to Branum’s residence off of State Road 58 in far northern Jackson County and dropped him off along the road, according to court records. Parrish told the men to come back and get him in a few minutes.

One of the men told police he heard two gunshots before they returned to pick Parrish up about a minute or two after dropping him off, according to court records.

Both men also told investigators they did not know Parrish was planning to kill someone when they dropped him off.

The case against Parrish was then sent to Jackson County Prosecutor Jeffrey Chalfant. After reviewing the case, Chalfant filed a charge of murder on Aug. 25, 2022, and Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard W. Poynter issued an arrest warrant for Parrish the same day.

The sheriff’s department later located Parrish in Kansas City, Missouri, Meyer said.

Jackson County Detective Clint Burcham and McElfresh traveled to Missouri and worked with investigators with the Kansas City Police Department, taking Parrish into custody on the warrant on Aug. 30, 2022.

The extradition process was completed Sept. 9, and Parrish was transported from Missouri to the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown where he remains at this time.

Jackson Circuit Judge Richard W. Poynter took the plea agreement under advisement and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.

A person convicted of a Level 2 felony faces a potential prison of between 10 and 30 years with an advisory sentence of 17½ years and a fined of not more than $10,000.