Watch: Influencer Gloria Zamora Dies After Being Shot by Estranged Husband
Content warning: This story contains mentions of suicide and allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.
An influencer’s loved ones are grappling with a shocking tragedy.
TikToker Sara Gilson was allegedly killed by her estranged husband Jeremiah Shawn Duffey nearly two weeks after calling him a pedophile online, according to a July 25 Owasso Police Department press release obtained by multiple outlets.
Officers arrived at Gilson’s Owasso, Oklahoma, home around 11:00 p.m. July 23 after a 911 call, in which emergency dispatchers heard a woman screaming before a gunshot. The release obtained by The Oklahoman noted, “There was no answer to repeated attempts by dispatchers to hail anyone on the other end of the call.”
Duffey, 48—who had been accused of inappropriately touching one of the juvenile basketball players he coached—fatally shot Gilson before dying by suicide, according to police. A second 911 call was placed by Gilson’s son from a neighbor’s home, telling dispatchers that his stepdad shot his mother.
More than a week before the killing, Gilson, 43, shared a TikTok video in which she took part in the viral documentary sit-down trend. Alongside a clip of herself, she wrote in the July 11 post, “Preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon to be ex husband, who I just found out is a pedophile.”
The video, which garnered more than 22 million views, was captioned, “I wish I was joking #plottwist.”
Gilson—whose legal name was Sara Jane Duffey, though she self-identified with her maiden name on social media—was granted an emergency order of protection June 10, which was extended 13 days later until Aug. 24, according to Tulsa County court records viewed by E! News.
The content creator was previously granted an emergency order of protection in September 2021, though it was ultimately dismissed after Gilson did not attend the hearing “at her request,” per the records.
Sara Gilson/Instagram
A day before being issued her June temporary restraining order, Duffey, a coach for a local traveling girls’ basketball team, was accused of inappropriately touching one of his players during an event at an elementary school, according to the OPD press release.
Authorities, who were contacted by the minor and her parents, allegedly discovered that “similar conduct by this coach towards this particular juvenile player was reported to have occurred over an extended period of time, in multiple law enforcement jurisdictions, across multiple states prior to this incident.”
The alleged conduct was witnessed by another team’s coach, according to the release, noting that Duffey fled at the time and had not been seen by police since.
The minor was granted an emergency protective order June 10 and extended June 23 until Aug. 24, per court records viewed by E!.
E! News has reached out to the Owasso Police Department for comment and has not yet heard back.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
