On the evening of September 5, 2014, police in Kansas City, Missouri, were dispatched to a residence in the 7400 block of East 118th Terrace following a call about a shooting. Inside the home, officers discovered the body of 45-year-old Sherrill Collins, a male victim who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was found on a couch, where he had been fatally shot.
The individual who reported the incident to emergency dispatchers remained at the scene, waiting on the front porch for law enforcement to arrive.
The man on the porch was identified as 37-year-old Christopher S. Deboe. According to investigators, Deboe admitted to officers that he had shot Collins. The motive for the violence was reportedly rooted in jealousy; Deboe told police that upon his recent release from prison, he had heard rumors that Collins was sleeping with his wife. Deboe claimed that during a confrontation inside the residence, he disarmed Collins before turning the weapon on him. After the shooting, Deboe called 911 himself, telling the dispatcher that someone had been shot and admitting to a struggle involving a gun.
Christopher Deboe was arrested and subsequently charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. During the legal proceedings, prosecutors presented the evidence of his confession and the circumstances of the shooting. In June 2015, a Jackson County jury found Deboe guilty on both counts. Following the conviction, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Sherrill Collins. However, Deboe’s time in custody was short; less than six months after his conviction, he died on December 9, 2015, while incarcerated at the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph, Missouri. Authorities indicated his death was due to causes other than natural causes, though specific details were not immediately released.
