Lilly Lee Patman was 18 when she was fatally shot on December 29, 2023, during an annual deer drive near Amelia Court House, Virginia. A recent Ignite Christian Academy graduate and a Brightpoint Community College student with a 4.0 GPA who aimed to become a social worker, Lilly also played local softball and was described as close to her three siblings. She was found by her father and younger brother on a neighboring property with a single gunshot wound while wearing a blaze orange vest.

Investigators later arrested a longtime family friend, 68-year-old Thomas Farleigh; he turned himself in at the Amelia County Courthouse in February 2024 and was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and felony reckless handling of a firearm. In the months after the case’s legal resolution, tensions between the families intensified when Deborah Farleigh was arrested the day after a court hearing and charged with felony abduction and misdemeanor brandishing of a firearm; a protective order was filed for the Patman family.

Anyone who knew Lilly, saw activity in the area on December 29, 2023, or has information about the events surrounding her death is asked to come forward.