On January 11, 2025, Kentucky State Police and investigators responded to a Laurel Fork residence in Steele, Kentucky, where 42-year-old Christopher Matthew Lester was found dead of gunshot wounds. The Pike County Coroner pronounced him deceased at the scene and his body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.

The investigation led authorities across state lines. Michael Brown was arrested in Virginia the same day. A few days later, Anthony Clyde Browning was arrested in Mingo County, West Virginia; both were charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A third man, Michael Shortridge, was arrested the following day. Initial statements reportedly had Shortridge identifying Brown as the shooter, but police later say Shortridge admitted to shooting Lester while alleging he acted under duress; Brown reportedly told police that both he and Browning shot the victim.

Does anyone in the Steele area have information about Lester or what led to this deadly confrontation?