A 31-year-old White female named Tanya Gould was found deceased in a residence in the 8000 block of Lake Drive in Cedar Hill, Missouri, on May 28, 2021. Her body was discovered by authorities following a violent confrontation at the home, though investigators determined that she had likely been killed several days prior to the police arriving. Gould had been the subject of a missing person report filed by her family earlier that month on May 9, after she disappeared under concerning
circumstances involving a tumultuous relationship.
The discovery of Gould’s remains occurred while deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office were executing a search warrant at the property. The law enforcement operation was originally part of an investigation into the disappearance of another individual, Jerry Crew, who had vanished in late April of that same year. When the SWAT team approached the residence to serve the warrant, they were immediately met with gunfire from inside the home. A standoff ensued, lasting several hours, during which a sheriff's deputy was shot and wounded in the lower body.
The primary suspect in the incident was identified as 36-year-old Anthony Legens, who was inside the residence at the time of the raid. Legens engaged in a prolonged shootout with the officers, reportedly firing upon their armored vehicles and actively attempting to kill them. The exchange of gunfire ultimately resulted in Legens being shot and killed by law enforcement at the scene. Upon entering the home after the threat was neutralized, investigators located Gould’s body. Due to the condition of her remains, authorities initially had to rely on dental records to confirm her identity.
No arrests were made in direct connection to Gould's homicide because the sole suspect, Legens, died during the confrontation with police. Legens had a significant criminal history, including past charges for domestic assault, burglary, and illegal weapon possession. While the raid on his home was prompted by the search for Jerry Crew, Crew was not found at the location at that time; his remains were eventually discovered by a hunter in a wooded area in Dittmer, Missouri, more than a year later in November 2022. The investigation into the events surrounding both deaths highlighted a pattern of violence, but the death of Legens effectively ended the possibility of criminal prosecution for Gould's murder.
