Highview Road is the kind of place where little changes and nothing ever seems to go wrong. The dead-end lane, tucked onto a small hill in the Woodland Valley neighborhood of Shandaken, is lined with six homes over a short stretch of pavement not much more than 500 feet long. It is a snapshot of suburban tranquility wrapped in the bucolic surroundings of rural life.
No one could imagine something so horrible could happen in a place like this.
But it did.
According to state police, in a bedroom inside a home near the end of Highview Road, Mark Braman, a retired employee of Ametek Rotron in Woodstock, shot and killed his longtime partner, Deborah Warren. He then turned the gun on himself.
Braman was 69. Warren was 68. The community they had been part of for decades was stunned.
“I just don’t know what happened to him,” said Henry Williams. “I used to go to his house for barbecues. He was just a good guy.”
Williams, who serves on the Shandaken Zoning Board, said he knew Braman for 30 years and often saw Warren while out grocery shopping. The last time he saw her, she told him that Braman was struggling with retirement and health issues.
“She told me that Mark was depressed and that he didn’t leave the house,” Williams said. “But even with all that, I still can’t believe that this happened.”
Friends described Braman as an avid Yankees fan who loved the Rolling Stones and vintage muscle cars. He cared for his aging parents as their health declined. His friends and family called him Marko. His brother is Jay Braman, a former reporter for the Daily Freeman, and his mother, Gloria Braman, previously worked for the Town of Shandaken. But above all, those who knew him said he was devoted to Warren, his partner since the 1980s.
That’s what makes what happened so difficult for many to comprehend.
“Debbie was a very vocal, boisterous woman. When she was in the room you knew she was in the room,” said Faye Storms, owner of Blue Barn Marketplace in Shandaken. Storms said she knew Warren from her time performing in plays and musicals at the Phoenicia Playhouse in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“She was a major singer and actress,” Storms said. “But she was very heartfelt and kind. She was always right there if you had a problem.”
State police found Braman and Warren at 7:29 p.m., on Nov. 11 after a neighbor had discovered the gruesome scene. Both were declared dead at the home. Spokesperson Jennifer Alvarez said no note was found but declined further comment because of the ongoing investigation.
A private service for Braman had been arranged at the Mt. Pleasant Rural Cemetery. No details for services for Warren were available.
Phoenicia resident and Shandaken Planning Board Member Vivian Welton said Braman had a weather station at his home and would post data on an Albany weather site.
“I followed his data for years and really valued it,” Welton said. “I never did meet Mark, but I told his brother Jay to let him know how much I appreciated him. Now, I wish I had reached out to him personally.”
For those struggling with their mental health:
• National Suicide Hotline: Dial or text 988
• Family of Woodstock Crisis Hotline: Call or text (845) 338-2370 or (845) 679-2485
Jim Rich is a senior reporter for The Overlook. You can reach him at jim@theoverlooknews.com.