Sara Gilson ex-husband says he begged slain influencer to leave killer

The ex-husband of social media influencer Sara Gilson has revealed that he spent years pleading with her to leave the man accused of killing her, according to reports. Gilson, who also went by the name Sara Duffey, was found dead alongside her husband, Jeremiah Duffy (also referred to as Jeremiah Shawn Duffey), at her home in Owasso, Oklahoma, following a police response to a domestic violence incident.

"She had been stuck in a relationship where domestic abuse seemed ‘OK’"

Lyle Landers, ex-husband, via AOL

"I had begged her for five years to get away from him. I had offered to help her, in any way I could, to get away from him. But he seemed to have some sort of control over her, and she couldn’t seem to get away."

Lyle Landers, ex-husband, via Yahoo News

Authorities are investigating the tragedy as a murder-suicide after discovering both individuals with gunshot wounds to the head. The emergency response was triggered by a call from a screaming Gilson, during which an apparent gunshot was heard, and a child inside the house separately called 911 to inform a dispatcher that his stepfather had shot his mother.

The fatal confrontation followed a public accusation made by Gilson on TikTok. On July 11, she posted a video using a popular trend with a caption indicating she was preparing for a documentary about her soon-to-be estranged husband after discovering he was a pedophile. Twelve days after that video was published, police found the bodies.

"She was a wonderful mother and would die for her children. In fact, her trying to protect children is what ultimately led to her death."

Lyle Landers, ex-husband, via AOL

Landers stated that Gilson was deeply devoted to her children. Court records cited in local press reports indicate that Gilson had previously sought legal protection from Duffy. According to The Oklahoman, she filed for protective orders twice in the year 2021, but judges dismissed both after she failed to appear in court. However, she filed for another protective order this month, which was granted by a judge who ordered Duffy out of Gilson's home and required him to stay at least 100 yards away from her and the residence. In her application, Gilson noted that Duffy possessed a firearm and had threatened suicide.

Legal scrutiny surrounding Duffy extended beyond domestic petitions. On June 9, Owasso police received a report from a parent and child accusing Duffy, who worked as a basketball coach, of touching a female child during an event inside a school. Police noted that similar accusations involving lewd molestations of a minor had been reported previously across multiple jurisdictions and states over an extended period. A separate protective order filed by another woman that same day alleged that Duffy had been seen kissing and fondling her 15-year-old daughter—a player on the youth basketball team he coached—and that he had given the teen money to keep her quiet. Additional allegations indicated Duffy sent inappropriate text messages to the girl, invited her to join him in a hotel room during a trip, and engaged in similar conduct.

Law enforcement attempts to apprehend Duffy immediately following the June reports proved difficult. According to Nick Boatman, a spokesperson for the Owasso police, officers went to the school where the allegations took place, but Duffy had already left. Over the subsequent 24 hours, multi-jurisdictional police units tried to track him down by pinging cellphone towers. The Muskogee sheriff’s department even deployed a drone to search near a tower that registered a ping from his phone, though Boatman stated that Duffy stayed just far enough ahead to evade tracking that night.

Because the alleged incidents occurred on Cherokee land and Duffy was a member of the Osage tribe, the Owasso police referred the investigation into the alleged lewd behavior toward a minor to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Tulsa, which holds jurisdiction over crimes on tribal territory. Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI field office in Tulsa did not immediately respond to requests for comment from media outlets.