Pregnant Miss America Christine Kozlowski Hand has confirmed to the Daily Mail that her born-again Christian husband Thomas Hand Jr. has been shot dead while preaching the word of God in a rough Alabama neighborhood. This is sad and my prayers and thoughts are with her. The report says he was shot in front of her and their 2-year-old son.
The slain husband of a former Miss America contestant was tragically gunned down in front of his wife and two-year-old son in a rough Alabama neighborhood while educating impoverished strangers about the powers of God, his friends and family say – just days after the couple celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary.
Thomas Hand Jr., 37, who considered himself a born-again Christian, was sharing information about Christianity in Montgomery on Saturday with his wife and toddler when a man – mumbling – walked up and shot him, his friends told DailyMail.com.
His wife, former Miss Mississippi Christine Kozlowski Hand, 33, confirmed the account in a brief interview with Dailymail.com on Wednesday, saying: ‘What you said is true. It was a complete random act of violence.’
Hand Jr. – a fitness buff and ex-competitive bodybuilder – discovered God in 2018 and soon became infatuated with Christianity. He and his wife made it a Saturday tradition to visit low-income areas in Alabama and share religious teachings.
‘He tried to spread the word of God, and he was shot,’ longtime friend Kevin Rayan told DailyMail.com. A 17-year-old was arrested in the Montgomery shooting and faces a charge of capital murder, according to police, who later named the suspect as Jerimiah Walker of Montgomery.
Walker is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Police did not immediately disclose the motive or details of the January 22 slaying, which happened about 4:30 p.m. on the 3100 block of Texas Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Crazy times.
Flip to the next page for pictures of Christine Kozlowski and Thomas Hand Jr.