On the evening of June 17, 2019, 32-year-old female Sarah Jo Tyminski was fatally shot during a domestic dispute in Neosho, Missouri. A resident of the Joplin area, she had recently moved to Newton County and was employed as a security guard at a behavioral health center. The violence erupted amidst a contentious custody disagreement involving her boyfriend, Chris Lamb, and his father regarding the couple’s two young daughters.
While custody had been legally arranged through a tribal court involving the grandparents, the parents were permitted weekend visits, which became the catalyst for the fatal confrontation.
The dispute intensified when Chris Lamb’s father, 60-year-old Rickey Lamb of Joplin, refused to allow the couple to see their children for a scheduled visit. This refusal escalated into a heated argument during which Chris threatened to take the girls and permanently sever contact with the grandparents. The verbal altercation turned violent at the residence, leading to an exchange of gunfire between the father and son. During the crossfire, Sarah Jo Tyminski was struck and killed, while Chris Lamb sustained serious gunshot injuries but survived the encounter.
Authorities arrested Rickey Lamb in connection with the shooting. In April 2021, nearly two years after the incident, he entered a guilty plea to a charge of second-degree murder. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed additional charges of domestic assault and armed criminal action. Rickey Lamb was subsequently sentenced to life in prison for the death of Sarah Jo Tyminski.
