For years before influencer Sara Gilson was killed in an apparent murder-suicide, the father of her children says he pleaded with her to leave her second husband — the man authorities say later shot her to death weeks after she publicly accused him online of being a pedophile.
Gilson’s first husband, Lyle Landers, told People magazine that he had long been troubled by her relationship with Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffey, who had been accused of molesting a juvenile before he and Gilson were found dead inside her Oklahoma home.
“Shawn had been a risk for her since they got together,” Landers, who shares two children with Gilson, told the outlet.
Landers said he believed Gilson had become trapped in a dangerous relationship. “She had been stuck in a relationship where domestic abuse seemed ‘OK.’ I had begged her for five years to get away from him,” said Landers, who separated from Gilson seven years ago.
He added that he repeatedly offered support if she chose to leave. “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.”
Those fears appeared to culminate last Thursday, when the 43-year-old lifestyle and beauty influencer was discovered fatally shot, less than six weeks after she had gone to court seeking an emergency protective order against her estranged second husband.
In her request for protection, Gilson alleged that Duffey, 48, had threatened to kill himself “and went on the run,” according to The Oklahoman.
Duffey, a member of the Osage Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, had been ordered to remain at least 100 yards away from Gilson, a restriction that forced him out of their home, the outlet reported.
She had previously sought protective orders against him twice in 2021 but they were dismissed after she failed to show up at hearings to make her case.
Two weeks before her death, Gilson accused Duffey of being a pedophile in a TikTok video on the trend of people pretending to sit for a Netflix documentary, with court records showing he was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl who played for the youth basketball team he coached.
The same day she was in court, a protective order was issued against Duffey on behalf of the teenager, whom he allegedly assaulted over an extended period spanning multiple states.
Another team coach claimed he witnessed Duffey assault her inside an elementary school where the competitive traveling team was renting the court while school was out of session and notified her guardians, sparking an investigation.
Duffey allegedly sent the minor inappropriate messages, kissed her and touched her inappropriately, and invited her to his hotel room during a tournament, offering money “to keep her quiet,” according to court documents obtained by the Oklahoman.
Investigators noted that similar conduct by Duffey toward this player had occurred over an extended period across multiple states and law enforcement jurisdictions.
Duffey fled the scene that night and had evaded police contact ever since.
Gilson and Landers, who have two children, amicably ended their marriage seven years ago.
“It had been the best thing in the world for our kids, but also for us,” Landers told People.
“We coparent as well as anyone, and it has shown in our kids. 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.”
