In the early morning hours of December 28, 2024, a tragedy unfolded in the parking lot of a Pilot Travel Center in Oak Grove, Kentucky, that would cut short the life of Dmytro Serbeniuk, a 37-year-old White/Caucasian male from Des Plaines, Illinois. Just after midnight, the Oak Grove Police Department received a call reporting shots fired at the gas station located on Pembroke Oak Grove Road. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Serbeniuk in the parking lot.
Despite the immediate life-saving efforts, including CPR administered by the police and Christian County Sheriff's deputies, Dmytro Serbeniuk was pronounced dead at the scene by the Christian County Coroner.
The initial investigation into Serbeniuk’s death quickly pointed towards a violent robbery. Law enforcement believes the assailant was attempting to steal Serbeniuk's box truck. In the chaotic moments following the shooting, a witness courageously pursued the stolen box truck as it fled the scene, but ultimately lost sight of it in Tennessee. Left behind in the gas station parking lot was a crucial piece of evidence: the suspect's own rental van. While the motive appeared to be a carjacking, the suspect remained unknown in the immediate aftermath, and no arrests had been made, leaving the case as an active and ongoing investigation. The stolen box truck was later discovered abandoned on the side of Interstate 24 in Humphreys County, Tennessee, with no sign of the driver.
A break in the case came on January 6, 2025, when authorities located and arrested a suspect. Thirty-six-year-old Brian Lee Kerr Jr. was taken into custody in Illinois following a pursuit by the Illinois State Police. Kerr was already wanted on multiple charges in Tennessee, including theft of over $10,000 and being a felon in possession of a firearm. While he is being held on theft and gun charges, police have identified him as a possible suspect in the shooting death of Dmytro Serbeniuk. At the time of his arrest, he had not yet been formally charged in connection with the murder. The investigation continues as authorities work to piece together the events that led to the untimely death of Dmytro Serbeniuk.
