The 911 call came in at about 11:15 p.m., placed by a child who lived in the house. In the background, a woman could be heard screaming and crying.
“I could hear a female in the background screaming and crying. Some sort of loud bang in the background,” the dispatcher told first responders on their way. Crews arrived at 11:18 p.m. and found the bodies of Sara Gilson, 43, and her estranged husband, Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffey, 48, at her home in Collinsville, Oklahoma. The child who called is believed to have witnessed at least part of what happened.
Investigators describe a murder-suicide. They say Duffey ignored a court order to stay away, went into the house, shot Gilson and then shot himself. The 911 audio was obtained by PEOPLE.
A viral post, weeks earlier
On July 11, Gilson joined the TikTok trend in which people imagine being interviewed for a future Netflix documentary. Her version was not a joke. “Preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon to be ex husband who I just found out is a pedophile,” she wrote, adding in the caption, “I wish I was joking.” The clip passed 5 million views and became one of her last posts.
The protective order
Court records show she sought an emergency protective order after police contacted her about allegations involving a 15-year-old girl on a youth basketball team Duffey coached. Per court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the girl’s mother said another coach saw Duffey kissing and fondling her daughter and stepped in at once. She also said her daughter later told her it was not the first time. The files claim he messaged the teenager to invite her to his hotel room during a tournament and tried to pay her cash “to keep her quiet.”
None of this was proven in court before Duffey died.
Police said Duffey fled the scene. Gilson filed for the protective order and for divorce. In papers obtained by The Oklahoman, she alleged he had a firearm, was threatening to take his own life and had “went on the run.” A judge granted the order, which told him to leave the family home and stay at least 100 yards from her. Records also show she filed two protective orders against him in 2021, but both cases were dismissed after she missed the hearings.
Her two children
Friends started a GoFundMe for the children. “Her sudden and heartbreaking loss has left an entire community grieving, but the greatest loss is felt by her two precious children, who must now face life without their loving mother,” the fundraiser says.
