Garfield man found guilty of killing mother of child

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Garfield man found guilty of killing mother of child

Paula Reed Ward | Monday, August 29, 2022 3:55 p.m.

Courtesy of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety

Jason Brown was charged with homicide in connection with the Feb. 8, 2021, killing of 22-year-old Katara Bray.

A Garfield man was found guilty Monday of killing the mother of his child.

Jason Brown, 25, will be sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani on Nov. 16.

Brown had a nonjury trial before Mariani last week. The judge returned his verdict on Monday, finding Brown guilty of third-degree murder and two firearms counts stemming from the Feb. 8, 2021, shooting death of Katara Bray, 22.

Bray — who had three children, including one with Brown — told a friend that day that she may be pregnant and that she didn’t want the father to be Brown, according to the criminal complaint.

Bray was found shot to death in the driver’s seat of a red Ford Fiesta that had crashed into a utility pole at Davison and 45th streets in Lawrenceville.

Witnesses told police that they saw Bray and Brown leave her house together that evening. The shooting occurred less than 90 minutes later.

Two witnesses who live near the scene of the shooting and crash told police they saw a tall man with shoulder-length dreads run from the area.

Police found paperwork belonging to Brown on the passenger-side floor of the Fiesta, as well as his cell phone.