Kaitlyn Potter-Navratil

Kaitlyn Potter-Navratil, a 26-year-old White woman from Silex, Missouri, was described by her family as an outgoing person who never met a stranger and had a laugh that could be instantly recognized as her own. A graduate of Winfield High School, she worked at Sam's Club in Wentzville. Kaitlyn was a new mother, and her sudden death left behind a young son and a family navigating a profound and unexpected loss.

In the early hours of July 27, 2024, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a shooting at a residence on Collage Circle Drive in the small community of Eolia. Deputies and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were dispatched at 12:23 a.m. and arrived to find Kaitlyn and another person, 26-year-old Timothy Todd, had been fatally shot.

According to witnesses at the scene, Kaitlyn and Timothy Todd had been at the home of Timothy’s father, Matthew G. Todd, when an argument broke out. Matthew Todd, 53, reportedly told his son and Kaitlyn to leave the residence. When they did not comply, he allegedly retrieved a rifle from a different room and fired three shots into the ceiling. Witnesses reported that he then shot his son and then shot Kaitlyn.

Matthew Todd was taken into custody at the scene without incident. Pike County Prosecutor Alex Ellison charged him with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of domestic assault in the first degree, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, and three counts of armed criminal action. He was held in the Pike County Jail on a $500,000 bond. In a subsequent development, Prosecutor Ellison announced that he would be seeking the death penalty in the case against Matthew Todd. As of May 2025, the case was proceeding through the court system.