On March 20, 2005, Sergeant Carl Dewayne Graham Jr., 37, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol was shot and killed in his driveway in rural Carter County near Van Buren. Graham, a twelve-year veteran, had just finished his shift and was ambushed as he stepped out of his patrol vehicle; a passing motorist later discovered his body beside the patrol car. The attack involved gunfire from a rifle and a shotgun.

Authorities focused on Graham’s professional duties almost immediately. He had been leading an investigation into a fatal hit-and-run from November 2004, and investigators identified Lance Collin Shockley as the primary person of interest in that earlier crash. Officers arrested Lance Shockley on March 23, 2005, initially on charges tied to the hit-and-run, and on March 29, 2005 he was formally charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in Graham’s killing. The case hinged on whether the ambush was intended to stop the investigation into the fatal November crash.

Did anyone in the Van Buren area have information about Sergeant Graham’s work or the hit-and-run investigation that could shed light on motives or suspects?