Brian Conrad, a 31-year-old male of Caucasian ethnicity, was tragically killed on September 30, 2005, in Pampa, Texas. He was the owner of a farm and ranch in the area and was married to Michell Conrad, with whom he had a young stepdaughter, Robin Doan. The couple was expecting their first child at the time of the incident.
The tragic events unfolded when a 23-year-old man named Levi King, who had recently been kicked out of his home in Missouri, went on a violent rampage.
King first shot an elderly man and his daughter-in-law in Pineville, Missouri, before stealing their truck and driving to Texas. He arrived at the Conrad family's farmhouse in Pampa, dressed in black and armed with an AK-47. King broke into the house and immediately went to the master bedroom, where he shot Brian Conrad three times. He then shot the family dog and turned his gun on Michell Conrad, shooting her five times. Michell's ten-year-old daughter, Robin, witnessed the entire ordeal and managed to survive by pretending to be dead.
After the attack, King drove to El Paso, crossed the border into Mexico, and was later detained by U.S. Border Patrol officers who found guns in his car. Upon discovering that he was wanted for questioning about the shootings in Missouri and Pampa, King calmly confessed to the killings. He explained that his anger over being kicked out of his home had driven him to commit the murders.
The case drew significant attention due to the brutality of the crime and the young age of the surviving witness. Robin Doan's 911 call, in which she tearfully reported the shootings and expressed her fear and hope that her mother was still alive, was particularly heart-wrenching. The community in Pampa was deeply shaken by the incident, and residents expressed fear and concern in the aftermath.
Levi King was eventually charged with capital murder and faced the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The case highlighted issues of mental health, as King had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia. Despite the tragic circumstances, Robin Doan has since worked to overcome the trauma and refuses to let the past haunt her.
The Conrad family's story remains a poignant reminder of the impact of violence and the resilience of those who survive such tragedies.
