Jason Allan Cumbie, 40, was shot and killed at his home on South Wall Street in Brady, Texas, about 4 a.m. on August 14, 2021. First responders attempted life-saving measures but Cumbie was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy noted a bullet entered his neck at a shallow angle and lodged in a vertebra.

Michael Paul Tarr, also 40 and a Brady resident, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder. Prosecutors presented evidence of a prior conflict between Tarr and Cumbie tied to Cumbie’s girlfriend, Tiffany Villarreal. Villarreal testified she heard a gunshot shortly after Cumbie left the house and found him on the ground partially under Tarr’s pickup. Tarr’s blood alcohol level at arrest was .157.

At trial, Tarr’s defense said Cumbie attacked him and Tarr fired a warning shot, but the jury rejected that account and on June 15, 2023 a McCulloch County jury found Tarr guilty of murder. Anyone who knew Jason, his movements that night, or has information about the conflict between the men is asked to come forward.