A social media influencer was killed by her estranged husband less than two weeks after she posted on TikTok accusing him of pedophilia, according to police and court records.
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Sara Gilson was fatally shot Thursday in Owasso, Oklahoma, by husband Jeremiah Duffey, who went by Shawn Duffey on social media, according to the Owasso Police Department. She was 43.
A little over a month earlier, on June 10, she filed and was granted an emergency protective order against Duffey after police informed her he’d been accused the day prior of molesting a minor.
On July 11, Gilson posted a video on TikTok, where she had more than 30,000 followers, accusing Duffey of pedophilia.
“Preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon to be ex husband who I just found out is a pedophile,” Gilson wrote.
The video referenced a popular social media trend that mimics Netflix documentaries, with users pretending to sit for a tell-all interview. Her caption read: “I wish I was joking. #plottwist #netflix #documentary.”
Less than two weeks later, Gilson was killed.
On June 9, about a month before Gilson posted the video, a girl and a parent told police that Duffey, who coached the girl’s traveling basketball team, inappropriately touched her during an event at an elementary school earlier that evening, police said. Another team coach saw what happened and immediately intervened and reported it to the girl’s parent, police said.
“Similar conduct by this coach towards this particular juvenile player was reported to have occurred over an extended period of time, in multiple law enforcement jurisdictions, across multiple states prior to this incident,” police said Saturday.
Duffey fled and had not been seen by police since.
Because Duffey was a member of the Osage tribe and the incident at the school happened on tribal land, police said, they submitted the case for a charge of lewd molestation of a minor to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for review, “ending the jurisdiction of the Owasso Police Department over this reported incident.”
Following the report, police contacted Gilson and gave her information on how to seek an emergency protective order.
She did just that and the order was granted June 10, Tulsa County court records show. Duffey was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Gilson and her home at all times. The attorney who represented Duffey did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
On Thursday, officers responded to a domestic violence incident at a residence in the city of Collinsville at 11:16 p.m. after a 911 call in which dispatchers heard a woman screaming followed by “what sounded to be a gunshot,” police said. Dispatchers attempted to call back but got no answer.
Moments later, a boy called 911 from a neighbor’s home and said his stepfather had shot his mother, police said. When officers arrived at the home, they found Gilson and Duffey dead from apparent gunshot wounds to the head, police said.
Police are still investigating, but they said the deaths appear to be a murder-suicide.
Gilson’s son was taken into protective custody and later released to a parent who wasn’t involved in the incident, authorities said. Gilson leaves behind the son and a daughter.
“Sara was an incredible mom. Her children were the center of her world, and everything she did was for them,” an online fundraiser set up for the kids said. “She loved them fiercely, worked hard to provide for them, and dreamed of giving them the best life possible.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 or go to 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
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