On June 11, 2017, 44-year-old George Rhody Campbell was shot and killed during an argument at a home on North Third Street in Thayer, Missouri. A juvenile called 911 and told police the child’s mother had shot Campbell. Officers found Campbell in the living room with a gunshot wound to his abdomen; medics treated him but he died of the injury. An officer observed a damaged mirror and blood inside a bedroom, and investigators found a 30-30 lever-action Winchester rifle in the house with a spent shell casing in the chamber.

Searchers found Cynthia Deann Willman hiding in the woods behind the home with blood on the front of her white dress. The juvenile witness said Willman had pressed the rifle against Campbell’s stomach; Campbell reportedly told her he was not afraid to die for the people he loved, and Willman then pulled the trigger. Willman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, endangering the welfare of a child, and unlawful use of a weapon; bond was initially set at $200,000 and later reduced to $100,000, which she posted. After her release she faced additional felony charges for third-degree assault, possession of a controlled substance, and endangering the welfare of a child after an officer found a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine in the home.

If anyone knew Campbell or has information about what happened that night, please share what is known.