Ex-partner says influencer remained trapped with husband accused of child abuse before their deaths
Sara Gilson, a TikTok influencer who accused her husband Jeremiah Duffy of child sexual abuse, was found dead alongside him in Oklahoma; her former partner said she repeatedly sought to leave the abusive relationship despite protective orders.
Sara Gilther Gilson, a social-media influencer who posted a TikTok video on July 11 alleging that her husband, Jeremiah Duffy, had sexually abused a child, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head at her Owasso, Oklahoma home on July 23. Police also discovered Duffy dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene and suspect he killed Gilson before turning the gun on himself.
Gilson's former husband, Lyle Landers, told reporters that she had filed multiple protective orders but was unable to escape Duffy's control. He said he had urged her for five years to leave the relationship and offered assistance, but she remained “stuck in a relationship where domestic abuse seemed ‘OK’.”
Court records show Gilson filed protective orders in 2021 that were dismissed after she missed court appearances, and a later order this month that required Duffy to stay at least 100 yards from her home after she reported threats of suicide and possession of a firearm.
Separately, a mother of a 15-year-old girl sought a protective order against Duffy, alleging the basketball coach had kissed, touched, and sent inappropriate messages to her daughter, and had offered money to keep the behavior secret. Police attempted to locate Duffy at the school and later tracked his cellphone via towers, but he evaded capture.
"He stayed just enough ahead of us that we couldn’t track him down that night," Owasso police spokesperson Nick Boatman said.
Because the alleged misconduct occurred on Cherokee land and Duffy is an Osage tribal member, the investigation was referred to the U.S. attorney’s office in Tulsa, which has jurisdiction over crimes on tribal territory. Neither the U.S. attorney’s office nor the FBI field office in Tulsa responded to requests for comment.