Shari Kaye Knutzen, 60, was shot and killed at her Huntsville, Alabama home on the night of Sunday, May 18, 2025. Deputies responded to a 911 call just before 10:30 p.m.; she was found with multiple gunshot wounds, taken to Huntsville Hospital, and did not survive. Her husband of 24 years, Gary Robert Wharton, was identified as the suspect at the scene, checked for a preexisting medical condition, taken into custody and booked at the Madison County Jail.

Shari had filed for divorce less than three weeks earlier and had been served with an electronic summons that same day. Court filings allege an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and claims Wharton had cut off financial and emotional support. Friends and her attorney described a history of abuse, including incidents that reportedly left Shari living in fear; in recent days she had been locking herself in her home office and had given a neighbor the house bullets for safekeeping.

The Madison County Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Unit are handling the investigation; criminal charges of murder were filed against Wharton. Does anyone in the Huntsville area have information about Shari, the family, or the neighborhood on Steppe Court that could help clarify what happened?