A Brandermill-area man charged in the weekend killing of his girlfriend told police that he struck her in the head with a patio brick after she first threw the brick at him, the defendant's attorney said.
Chesterfield County police charged Adrian E. Branch, 44, with first-degree murder after his girlfriend, Amy R. White, 38, was found dead Sunday about 6 p.m. outside the home they apparently shared in the 6200 block of Mockingbird Lane.
The couple had a history of domestic troubles dating to 2008, according to court records. Branch was charged with assaulting White in 2009, but the charge was eventually withdrawn. Likewise, White was charged with assaulting Branch three times — in 2008, 2009 and 2010 — but those charges were also withdrawn by prosecutors, records show.
"They've been together off and on for the past three or four years," said defense attorney Greg Sheldon, who was appointed Monday to represent Branch, who appeared briefly in Chesterfield Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
"I think they've been having some problems for a while, and I think there certainly was alcohol involved" in the weekend dispute that led to the killing, Sheldon said. Branch told police that White was intoxicated that evening, he added.
The alleged murder weapon apparently was a brick "that you would have in a patio area," Sheldon said.
Sheldon said he's not precisely certain when the fatal assault occurred. "It's not clear … whether it happened Friday and she died on Saturday, or it happened Saturday."
Shelton said investigators spoke to Branch on Saturday and released him, "and then they came back on Sunday and arrested him." White's body was found Saturday on the back deck of the home, which is owned by another man who was out of town at the time, Sheldon said.
Sheldon said Branch rented a room inside the dwelling and that White frequently stayed there with him.
"My understanding is that my client told the police that she threw the brick at him at close range and he was able to get out of the way, and then the fight kind of ensued from there," Sheldon said.
A judge Monday set a preliminary hearing date for Sept. 1. Sheldon said he will seek on Wednesday to have Branch released on bond. Sheldon said Branch, a Virginia native, works as an overnight stocker for a local Kroger store.
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