In the quiet of a Sunday evening in Auburn, Alabama, a call regarding a domestic disturbance set in motion a chain of events that would end in tragedy. On May 19, 2019, thirty-seven-year-old police officer William Buechner, a 13-year veteran of the Auburn Police Division, responded to the call at a mobile home park on Wire Road. He was a man known for his dedication and preparedness, a loving husband with a son and stepdaughter.
That night, his commitment to protecting others would cost him his life.
When Buechner and two fellow officers, Webb Sistrunk and Evan Elliot, arrived at the scene, they were met with a hail of gunfire. The shots came from a man named Grady Wayne Wilkes, then 29 years old. Clad in camouflage, a helmet, and body armor from his time in the National Guard, Wilkes opened fire on the officers with an AR-15 as they approached his residence. In the ensuing chaos, all three officers were hit. Buechner was fatally wounded, while Sistrunk and Elliot sustained injuries but survived. As he lay dying, Buechner's body camera reportedly captured his final, poignant words, 'Lord, please help me.' The shooter then fled into the night, sparking a massive nine-hour manhunt.
The search for Grady Wilkes ended the following morning when he was apprehended without incident, less than a mile from the scene of the shooting. He was charged with capital murder for the death of Officer Buechner, as well as the attempted murder of the two wounded officers and another officer who was fired upon but not struck. In the legal proceedings that followed, Wilkes pleaded not guilty by reason of a mental defect, with his defense attorneys arguing that he did not intend to kill the officer.
The case went to trial, and in August 2023, a Lee County jury found Grady Wilkes guilty of capital murder and two counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors had initially sought the death penalty for the former soldier. During the sentencing phase, Wilkes offered an apology to Buechner's family, expressing his remorse. Ultimately, the jury sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, bringing a close to the legal chapter of a night that irrevocably changed many lives.
