In the late hours of a November evening in Greenville, South Carolina, a tragic and violent sequence of events unfolded, culminating in the death of 22-year-old David Edens Jr. The young man, a Black / African American father of two, was fatally shot on November 19, 2019, at the Motel 6 on Wade Hampton Boulevard where he was living. The incident, which shattered the night's quiet with the sound of breaking glass and gunfire, left a family grieving and a community in shock.
The events
leading to David Edens Jr.'s death began when his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his one-year-old daughter, 25-year-old Kodesha Lyuna Bryson, arrived at the motel in an agitated state. Witnesses reported that Bryson was seen smashing motel windows as she searched for Edens. Her frantic search ended in a fatal confrontation inside Edens' motel room. An altercation occurred, and during the struggle, Edens was shot. When deputies from the Greenville County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a burglary at approximately 10:35 p.m., they discovered Edens unresponsive inside the room with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Kodesha Lyuna Bryson did not remain at the motel. However, the following day, she turned herself in to law enforcement. Bryson was subsequently arrested and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and malicious damage. During her bond hearing, a tearful Bryson apologized to Edens' family, claiming the gun went off accidentally and that she never intended to hurt him. Despite her plea, the judge denied bond, and she was booked into the Greenville County Detention Center.
The relationship between Edens and Bryson was described as tumultuous and filled with conflict. Just hours before his death, Edens had reportedly posted on social media about toxic relationships. His family remembered him as a loving and devoted father, son, and brother. The tragic loss of a young father and the incarceration of a young mother left their shared child without parents and two families devastated by the violent end to a troubled relationship.
