Sara Gilson did not have a will before her husband, Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffey, fatally shot her then killed himself in a murder-suicide, according to probate documents filed nearly two weeks after her tragic death.
Gilson’s ex-husband, Lyle Landers, with whom she shared two children, claimed in newly filed court documents exclusively obtained by Us that the influencer died without a will and he is asking the court to block any beneficiaries of Duffey’s estate from inheriting anything from the social media star in the wake of her murder. She was 43.
In the docs submitted on July 29, Landers, 46, noted that since she was killed on July 23, he’s made a “diligent effort” to locate a will but hasn’t been “successful.
Landers noted that because Duffey, who was 47 at the time of his death, “intentionally an feloniously took [Sara’s] life” before dying by suicide, his designated beneficiaries “should be barred from inheriting from the decedent.” He cited Oklahoma law, arguing that the state previously ruled that “no person should be permitted to benefit from his own wrongdoing.”
Landers pointed out that per Oklahoma statues, “no person who is convicted of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree, as defined by the laws of this state” shall be able to “inherit from the victim of the offense, or receive any interest in the estate of the victim, or take any devise or legacy, or as a designated beneficiary of an account.”
He claimed his ex-wife left an estate consisting of personal property in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which he wants to ‘Preserve and protect” for their children.
Landers is requesting that the court appoint him administrator of Gilson’s estate and guardian ad litem for their children. (A guardian ad litem is a person named by a judge to protect the best interests of a child or an adult who cannot speak for themselves in a court of law.)
According to his filing, Landers argued that his and Gilson’s children, Mia, 14, and Tye, 13, are still minors and “cannot adequately participate in protecting their rights” against Duffey’s beneficiaries possibly coming for Gilson’s estate.
Gilson’s ex-husband, who divorced from the content creator was finalized in 2019, is asking the court to determine the identity of her heirs at the next hearing.
News broke on July 25 that Gilson and Duffey were found dead in their Oklahoma City home after a fatal shooting two days prior. Investigators believe that Duffey broke into the house and opened fire on Gilson before taking his own life.
Prior to her death, Gilson claimed in a TikTok video that Duffey was a pedophile after he was accused in June of sexual misconduct by a 15-year-old female basketball player he was coaching. (“Preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon to be ex husband who I just found out is a pedophile,” Gilson wrote alongside the video, noting, “I wish I was kidding.”)
Following the allegations, both Gilson and the alleged minor victim filed for an emergency protective order against Duffey.
Us later confirmed that Gilson filed three separate protective orders against Duffey throughout their relationship. The first in August 2021, and the second in September 2021, were both dismissed that same year.
The third protective order filed in June was granted ahead of her death. Gilson claimed in her filing that Duffey had a “firearm on him” and “went on the run” after being accused of child abuse.
Us confirmed on July 30 that an unidentified male called 911 for help before Gilson was killed. According to a radio log call from Gilson and Duffey’s home on the day of the murder-suicide, the male caller claimed he heard Gilson plead for her life to someone presumed to be Duffey who was in the room.
The man also told the operator that a child was in the home.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
