William Conway III, a 25-year-old man, was working as a delivery driver on what should have been a routine Monday morning. He was employed by Graddy’s Transportation LLC, a contractor for Lowe's, and on October 5, 2026, he and his coworker, Marquelle McCray, were tasked with delivering a stove in a rural area east of Guthrie, Oklahoma.
The day took a tragic turn when the two men arrived at the wrong address in the 11000 block of East College Avenue, near Autumn Woods Farm Road.
It was shortly before 8 a.m. when they began to unload the appliance. According to the homeowner, Conway was acting strangely. He gave the homeowner a hug and said, "We’re here to deliver a stove." When they realized their mistake, Conway's behavior reportedly grew more erratic. As a car with several juveniles was leaving the home for school, Conway tried to get a ride with them. The driver brought him back to the delivery truck. One of the juveniles in the car, alarmed by Conway's bizarre actions and concerned for his coworker, called 911. The caller told the dispatcher that Conway seemed to be under the influence and was holding a knife.
After Conway returned to the truck, he and McCray, who was 28, drove away. The 911 caller reported that the truck was being driven "really aggressively." A violent altercation broke out between the two men inside the cab of the moving vehicle. Investigators believe McCray, the driver, may have been trying to escape a dangerous situation. The truck was seen driving erratically through yards and hit a mailbox before the fight spilled out of the vehicle and onto the road.
According to the Logan County Sheriff's Office, the physical confrontation escalated dramatically. Conway allegedly attacked McCray, stabbing him in the face with a knife and biting his ear off. At some point during the struggle, McCray was also run over by the delivery truck, suffering injuries to his legs. In the midst of the assault, McCray produced a handgun and shot Conway.
When deputies from the Logan County Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene, they found William Conway III in the road. He was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound. Marquelle McCray was found badly injured but was conscious and able to speak with deputies and witnesses. A 911 caller who stopped to help relayed what McCray was saying, telling the dispatcher, "He bit my ear off." McCray was airlifted to a hospital in Oklahoma City for treatment of his multiple injuries and was reported to be in stable condition and expected to recover.
The Logan County Sheriff's Office, led by Undersheriff Troy Dykes, launched an investigation into the deadly incident. They have been piecing together the bizarre chain of events to determine the exact sequence and what prompted the initial conflict. Investigators have not indicated that any other crime, such as a robbery, was involved. McCray and the trucking company have been fully cooperating with the authorities.
As of October 2026, the investigation was ongoing. Authorities were working to determine who the primary aggressor was and whether McCray acted in self-defense. Undersheriff Dykes noted that while it was too early to say for sure, preliminary information pointed in a certain direction. He also stated that in this situation, the gun McCray used "is probably what saved his life." No charges had been filed in the case. The Logan County Sheriff's Office continues its investigation.
