RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesInfluencer Sara Gilson's ex-husband says their young son narrowly escaped the terrifying violence that claimed his mother's life ... telling TMZ the child never witnessed the fatal shooting, but did hear the gunfire as he ran for help.
Lyle Landers, who shares two children with Sara, tells TMZ there has been a lot of misinformation circulating since Sara's death, and he wants to make one thing clear -- their son did not see his mother after she was shot.
According to Lyle, his son was in another room playing games on his computer when he heard a commotion. He walked into the entryway and saw Sara and Jeremiah 'Shawn' Duffey in the kitchen, where Shawn was allegedly holding a gun. Lyle says Shawn told the boy, "You need to leave," and Sara -- realizing how serious the situation had become -- instructed him to run and call 911.
Lyle tells us the frightened child ran to a neighbor's house, but no one answered the door. He says his son then headed toward the home of a state trooper who lived several houses away; however, while running, he heard a gunshot behind him and decided to keep going.
The boy eventually reached another neighbor's home about a block away and called his father. Lyle says the phone call "scared me to death." He recalls asking his son where he was, and after learning he was safe at a neighbor's house, Lyle told him not to return home because he had no idea what had happened.
Lyle says he lives only about four miles away, and during the drive to Sara's house he desperately hoped the situation hadn't ended the way it ultimately did ... saying, "I was praying maybe he just committed suicide in front of her to torture her. I never thought it would go to this extent."
Lyle says he and Sara remained extremely close despite their divorce and shared custody in an unusually flexible arrangement. As a full-time firefighter, he says the children often moved back and forth between their homes depending on his work schedule, and he and Sara spoke nearly every day.
In the six weeks leading up to her death, Lyle says Sara repeatedly expressed fears about Shawn, telling him she no longer trusted him and worried he might "go off the deep end."
According to Lyle, Sara's concerns became so serious that she suggested something she had never proposed before. He says she told him, "I think the kids should live with you full time," because she recognized what she believed Shawn was capable of.
As TMZ previously reported ... Gilson and Duffey were found dead from gunshot wounds inside her Oklahoma home on July 23 in what cops say appeared to be a murder-suicide.
TMZ obtained dispatch audio from the night of the shooting ... with a dispatcher reporting a woman could be heard screaming and crying before a loud bang.
Less than two weeks before her death, Gilson posted a TikTok calling her soon-to-be ex-husband a pedophile and adding, "I wish I was joking."
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