Grandmother of UK student who died in triple shooting remembers her ‘so full of joy’
A 20-year-old University of Kentucky student who died in a shooting early Sunday was “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” her grandmother said.
Madilyn Taylor Grisham was one of three people found shot when police were called to the 100 block Payne Street at about 2 a.m. Police said the other two people, a 34-year-old and a 22-year-old, sustained “critical” injuries and were taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital.
Grisham died at the scene.
Pat Michaux, Grisham’s grandmother, said she had been told that there had been “a bunch of college kids partying” at a venue in the area before the shooting, and Grisham was among them.
“They were all running to their cars when the shots rang out,” Michaux said. “She was at this party with her roommates ... It was just a freak thing.”
Lexington police said Tuesday night that the investigation is ongoing, and there was no new information available. Police said Sunday that it was too soon to say how many people fired shots.
Police have not announced any arrests.
Payne Street runs parallel to Newtown Pike in an industrial area near Lexington Cemetery.
Michaux, a retired principal at Johnson Elementary School, is trying not to dwell too much on the the circumstances of her granddaughter’s death.
“That doesn’t get her back,” she said. “That negativity just eats at you.”
Instead, she is choosing to focus on the many happy memories they shared — playing dress-up with her as a toddler, hiking together at Red River Gorge.
“She was like a breath of fresh air,” she said. “She lit up a room.”
Michaux said Grisham was a graduate of Lafayette High School and a communications student at UK. She worked at Healthy Way Lex, a nutrition and smoothie shop, and had hopes of starting her own business someday, Michaux said.
“I’d rather think of the Madilyn that I knew that was so full of joy,” she said. “I was so glad to be her Nanny.”
A private funeral service will be conducted, with Kerr Brothers Funeral Home in charge of arrangements, according to an obituary.
A GoFundMe account had generated more than $25,000 in donations by Tuesday night.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 9:35 PM.
