Chattanooga police charge Carmisha Lay with murder

photo Carmisha Shade Lay

Family members were still coming to terms Friday with the loss of a father of five gunned down Thursday in an East Chattanooga home.

"He is such a great father figure. He is such a great person. It's going to be hard without him being here," said Quetta Glenn, Edward Glenn Jr.'s younger sister.

Family members sorted through pictures, laughed and smiled as they swapped stories about Glenn, 28. They saw his features in the faces of his children.

Chattanooga police have charged Carmisha Lay, 24, with first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, criminal conspiracy, making false reports and tampering with evidence. Her bond was set at $409,000.

Glenn's family hopes more arrests will be made.

"I want to know everybody [involved] because what they did to him. They didn't have to do that," said Renee Tellis, Glenn's older sister.

Police say they believe Lay lured Glenn to her home at 2500 O'Rear St., and tipped off two other men. They came to the home, robbed Glenn and shot him several times, police say. Glenn died at the scene. His cellphone was found in a trash can inside the home. The phone was wet and the battery was removed, according to the report.

Carmisha Lay initially told police two strangers came into her home and shot Glenn. Later, she changed her story.

"Carmisha stated that she sent [the suspect] a text telling him the victim was in her bed with the understanding that [the suspect] would enter her home and rob the victim," according to the arrest affidavit. The robber brought an accomplice, police said.

Afterward, Lay ran to her grandmother, Ella Lay, who lives in a house on Daisy Street adjacent to hers. Then Carmisha Lay was taken to a different location, according to the report.

Hours after Glenn was killed, Ella Lay told the Chattanooga Times Free Press she had seen two men run away from the O'Rear Street home before she went there.

Police said she gave them a similar statement when she initially was questioned.

"She lied to us, too," said Master Patrol Officer Nathan Hartwig.

Investigators spent Thursday sorting through various stories initially told by Ella Lay and other relatives, Hartwig said.

Ella Lay also claimed her granddaughter was out of town and that she was trying to help Glenn.

Quetta Glenn said Ella Lay was not going to help her brother.

"She didn't have to say all of that. That's not why he was over there," she said.

Police have no evidence that points to Glenn as a drug dealer. It's unclear why he was targeted. Relatives said he worked odd jobs to make ends meet.

His children, ages 9, 7, 3, 2 and a baby born on Christmas Eve, miss him, family members said.

His 3-year-old son says, "'My dad died and went to heaven.' I'm sure he don't really understand," Tellis said.

Lay has a Wednesday court date before Sessions Judge David Bales.

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