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- [00:01]
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- [00:33]
Podcast Host
That's so Criminal
- [00:36]
Lyndon Blair
an influencer makes a living by sharing a lot of themselves online. It's a career path many people long for. But not everyone's life is as perfect as it appears on social media. In fact, when this Oklahoma influencer started sharing the not so glamorous parts of her story, she wound up dead.
- [00:55]
911 Dispatcher
Some sort of loud bang in the background.
- [00:58]
Lyndon Blair
I'm Lyndon Blair and you're listening to that's so Criminal.
- [01:01]
Podcast Host
That's so Criminal.
- [01:08]
Lyndon Blair
We have got to dig into this tragic case out of Oklahoma involving an influencer who was, more importantly, the mother of two young kids. Online, everyone knew her as Sarah Gilson, but her name was Sarah Duffy. At 43 years old, she built a life around two things that cutting hair at Glaze Hair Salon and building a TikTok following. She used to sell clothes and jewelry.
- [01:33]
Podcast Host
I love this bag so much. This color is everything I wanted and more. This is the khaki color.
- [01:39]
Lyndon Blair
She grew up in San Diego but eventually put down roots in Collinsville, Oklahoma. People who sat in her salon chair loved Sarah. You know that feeling of sitting in the chair and feeling like you can tell your hairdresser anything. That's how Sarah's clients felt. She asked about their lives and really listened and followed up the next time they came in. It's hard for those who love Sarah to imagine life without her. Sarah had two teenagers, a son and a daughter from her marriage to her ex husband, Lyle Landers. Sarah and Lyle divorced about seven years earlier, but they stayed on good terms. They raised the kids together and Landers even wrote his own tribute after Sarah's death, calling her the life of the party, a mother who'd fight to the death for her children. He said they woke up Thursday without their mother and called what happened to her unfathomable. Lyle Landers had a ton of respect for Sarah and saying that her new husband, Jeremiah Shawn Duffy, he goes by Shawn by the way, didn't have the same respect for her is the understatement of the century. This next part will come into play a little later, but Sean was a member of the Osage Nation. He coached a competitive traveling youth basketball team around Tulsa and to the world. He and Sarah were a cute couple known as the Duffs online. And I bet you guessed it, the couple who seemed lovely online didn't have it all figured out. Years before any of this made headlines, Sarah had already tried to get away from Sean. In 2021, she filed for a protective order against him. But when she missed the hearing that was supposed to decide it, the case was dismissed. Then the two stayed together despite pushback from those who loved Sarah the most. Five years later, on June 9, 2026, at 7:12pm the turmoil in their relationship came to a climax. A young girl, a basketball player, and one of her parents walked into Owasso police headquarters. An hour earlier, they said Sean had inappropriately touched a girl during a basketball event at an elementary school.
- [03:50]
Lawson Police Officer
Now, Lawson police say this all started back on June 9, when a juvenile girl had reported that her basketball coach, that we now know is Jeremiah Duffy, had inappropriately touched her at a team event. Now, actually, one of the other coaches witnessed this, intervened, and immediately reported it to her parents.
- [04:06]
Lyndon Blair
Sean ran, police found Sarah and walked her through how to file an emergency protective order against her husband. Remember now, Sarah has a young daughter from her previous marriage. And here's where things get a little complicated. The alleged assault happens in Indian country, and Shawn is a member of the Osage tribe.
- [04:26]
Lawson Police Officer
Now, because Duffy is a member of the Osage nations, this alleged crime happened in Indian country. And so the case was then referred to the U.S. attorney's Office under the federal Major crimes Act.
- [04:36]
Lyndon Blair
Under federal law, that combination automatically made his actions a major crime. And because the case moved straight to the U.S. attorney Attorney's office, Owasso police lost jurisdiction over it immediately. On the next day, June 10, a Tulsa county court granted Sarah's emergency protective order. That means Sean had to stay 100 yards from her and her home. No exceptions. For a moment, it looked like Sarah was protected.
- [05:07]
Podcast Host
That's so criminal.
- [05:14]
Lyndon Blair
Sarah didn't stay quiet after that. Just days later, she sat down and shared something with her entire online audience. She thought she was putting her spin on a TikTok trend. But her words would end up defining how the country came to see this case. And she had no idea that those words would be some of her last. Now it's July 11, a day after her protective order is granted. Being the creator that she is, Sarah decides to join in on the popular Netflix documentary trend. The premise behind this trend is you say something like, preparing for my Netflix documentary on my obsession with my dog. And in the video, you act like you're putting on a mic and sitting in a chair getting ready for the Netflix producers to interview you. Sarah did this using the real life scenario she was going through at the time. Her caption read, preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon to be ex husband who I just found out is a pedophile. As you can imagine, with that level of vulnerability, the video went viral. People who had never heard her name were suddenly tracking her protective order and her upcoming court dates. There are more eyes on this case than almost any domestic violence filing in the country. But that still wasn't enough to protect her. Twelve days after posting that TikTok trend, Owasso police got a domestic violence call from a home in Collinsville, Oklahoma. Dispatchers heard a woman screaming, then a sound they'd later confirm was a gunshot. They called the number back, but no one answered.
- [06:57]
911 Dispatcher
1, 2, 7, 6 and 6, 32 and 66. I'm trying to reach him back, but I could hear a female in the background screaming and crying. Some sort of loud bang in the background. That old male that we were looking for a few weeks ago after you got caught guessing a juvenile.
- [07:20]
Lyndon Blair
Then came a second call. Officers say this time it was Sarah's son telling them that his stepfather had shot his mother. Officers arrived to find both Sarah and Shawn dead, each shot in the head. Investigators said that Sean killed Sarah, then turned the gun on himself. After this tragic incident, Sarah's son went into protective custody and was later released to his dad, who had no part in any of this. Actually, Lyle Landers, Sarah's ex husband, who we mentioned earlier, said he had told Sarah for years to leave Shawn Duffy. He told People magazine, I had offered to help her in any way I could to get away from him, but he seemed to have some sort of control over her and she couldn't seem to get away. Police say there's no threat to the public now and unfortunately there will be no arrest because Sean killed Sarah, then killed himself. So there's no one left to answer for the crime. And as someone who's lost a friend to this exact crime in the last year, you this is one of the many frustrating parts about a murder suicide. Justice is never served.
- [08:36]
Podcast Host
That's so criminal.
- [08:41]
Lyndon Blair
On July 25, 2026, dozens of people gathered at Morrow Elementary School for a candlelight vigil celebrating Sarah's life and the impact she had on her community. Sarah's children are far away from the house in Collinsville, Oklahoma, and and far away from the tragedy that happened there. You can search online for the GoFundMe link for Sarah Gilson that will benefit her two children. The money raised is going to go to helping their education, counseling, funeral expenses as they start their unimaginable journey without their mother because of a coward. I'm Lyndon Blake, and you've been listening to that's so criminal.
- [09:23]
Pray.com Advertiser
What if a few minutes with God could change the direction of your entire Day? With pray.com you can begin each morning with powerful daily prayers, inspiring Bible stories, and messages created to strengthen your faith. Whether you need peace, encouragement, or a fresh start, pray.com helps you make prayer part of your everyday Life. Download the Pray.com app today.