On the evening of April 13, 2017, a violent altercation at a residence on East Vine Street in Sullivan, Missouri, ended with 32-year-old John Michael Easter suffering gunshot wounds. Responders found him around 10:30 p.m.; he was taken to Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan but later died of his injuries.

The investigation focused on John’s brother, Thomas T.J. Easter II, then 35, after police said a fight between the siblings escalated and resulted in the shooting. Thomas Easter was taken into custody and initially charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action and held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.

In March 2018 prosecutors dismissed all charges, concluding the shooting was justified under state self-defense rules. John lived in Leasburg, Missouri, and was survived by a daughter, his parents, and an extended family who held funeral services at Eaton Funeral Home.