Pauline Betts-Bracy was a reliable caretaker who helped raise several foster children, and she built a reputation for supporting family members, her daughter said.
A relative she had previously supported with money, food and a place to stay was in custody Sunday after the shooting deaths of Betts-Bracy and her husband, Nathaniel Bracy, the daughter said.
The city’s mayor, Dwight Welch, confirmed that a “person of interest” being questioned Sunday was a relative of Betts-Bracy. No charges had been filed Sunday evening.
Betts-Bracy, 54, and her 64-year-old husband had moved to a condo in the southwest suburb a few months ago from their home in Chicago’s Gresham neighborhood, said Margaret Betts, Betts-Bracy’s daughter. The pair married about eight years ago, family members said.
“(Bracy) was her perfect soul mate,” Betts said. “They were very happy together, and it’s such a tragedy that (the killer) would take that away from her.”
Country Club Hills police offered no details on the shootings over the weekend. But Welch said the killings were preceded by a quarrel Friday between the couple and the relative involving ownership of the condo.
Police had responded to the residence previously for disputes involving the home’s ownership, Welch said.
Betts-Bracy or her husband had called the police that day to report that the relative had made a threat, her daughter said.
Detectives were gathering information Sunday and preparing to share the details of their investigation with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office for potential charges, Welch said. The mayor said the double homicide marked the first slayings of the year in the suburb.
Both victims were declared dead just after midnight Friday, and both died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Yellow crime-scene tape flapped in the wind Sunday around the condominium building, one in a cluster of multiunit homes. Neighbor Thomas Grant, 49, said he didn’t notice anything unusual at the home, even though he had frequently been outside with his 2-month-old puppy.
More Top Picks Best Magnifiers For Reading Medicine Labels
Nicole Bracy remembered her father as a “laid-back” and “mild-mannered” Vietnam War veteran who had worked as an electrician. Recently, Bracy had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and was receiving disability payments, his daughter said.
Bracy was quiet, but his wife was outgoing and chatty, Nicole Bracy said, adding that “opposites attract.”
Betts said her mother was a “phenomenal” parent who fostered 10 kids in addition to her two biological children.
She sold purses through her own business, and she ran Happy Wheels Transportation Services, the company she founded to drive kids to and from school.
“She’s definitely going to be loved and missed,” her daughter said.