Sara Gilson’s family members are remembering the influencer in the times since she was allegedly killed by her estranged husband, Shawn Duffey, in a shocking murder-suicide.
“Her last day, she was glad,” Gilson’s best friend Kelsi Lard told People in an interview published on Sunday, July 26, sharing that she was along with her “the identical day her life was taken.”
Lard continued, “As at all times, she was cracking jokes and making me laugh. I’ll miss her a lot. I don’t want her life to be diminished into what happened in the long run. She brought a lot joy to all of us, and I’ll miss her daily.”
Lard shared that she thinks Gilson, whom she had been friends with for greater than twenty years, would need to be remembered at the start as a mother to her two children. Lard added that Gilson once told her being a parent was her “biggest accomplishment.” (Gilson shares her kids with ex-husband Lyle Landers.)
“She was a fun, loving and devoted mom. She loved [her kids] greater than anything on this world. She’d do anything for them,” Lard said.
Gilson and Duffey were found dead inside their Tulsa, Oklahoma, home on Thursday, July 23. Gilson was 43.
Law enforcement officials interviewed an unidentified member of the family on the scene who claimed Gilson and Duffey died by murder-suicide, per local reports. A police investigation is ongoing.
Weeks before her death, Gilson publicly accused Duffey of pedophilia. Duffey didn’t address the allegations prior to his death. The pair separated earlier in the summertime.
Courtesy of Chris O’Donnell/Instagram; Courtesy of Kyle Marisa Roth/Instagram The deaths of several online stars have shaken the TikTok and influencer community — and broken the hearts of countless fans — through the years. Taylor Rousseau Grigg died in October 2024 on the age of 25 after battling undisclosed medical issues. Her husband, Cameron Grigg, […]
“Thanks for the military. Your thoughts, prayers and gift cards have meant greater than you recognize,” Gilson wrote via TikTok last month, addressing her divorce. “While I’m grieving and attempting to process the worst thing conceivable, I’m solely focused on my children and their well-being. Their safety and mental health is my only concern right now.”
She continued, “We aren’t OK and I’m undecided I’ll ever be the identical, but God has been so faithful on this process and I feel his presence in every part I do.”
Landers, for his part, alleged that he “begged” Gilson to go away her estranged husband.
“She had been stuck in a relationship where domestic abuse seemed ‘OK,’” Landers claimed in an interview with People published on Sunday. “I had begged her for five years to get away from him. I had offered to assist her, in any way I could, to get away from him. But, he appeared to have some type of control over her, and he or she couldn’t appear to get away.”
Hollywood mourned the deaths of a few of its most legendary stars in 2026. In June, legendary music executive Clive Davis also died at age 94 following a hospitalization for an upper respiratory infection. At the top of the month, news broke that the Village People lead singer Victor Willis had died. Actor Joby Baker died […]
While Landers and Gilson divorced seven years ago, he explained that the exes were amicably coparenting their children.
“It had been the very best thing on the planet for our youngsters, but in addition for us. We coparent in addition to anyone, and it has shown in our youngsters,” Landers said. “She was an exquisite mother and would die for her children. In reality, her attempting to protect children is what ultimately led to her death.”
In case you or someone you recognize is struggling or in crisis, help is out there. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In case you or someone you recognize is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. In case you or someone you recognize is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.