On a tragic Friday morning in March, the life of 29-year-old Keilee Ann Sparks was cut short. A resident of Greenup, Kentucky, Keilee was a white female working at Tudor's Biscuit World in Lavalette, West Virginia, when the unthinkable happened. On March 13, 2020, her longtime partner, Gary Lee Damron, 45, of Huntington, walked into the restaurant around 9:40 a.m. and fatally shot her while she was in the kitchen.
The shooting was the culmination of what authorities described as a domestic situation. Family members revealed that Keilee had been in an abusive relationship with Damron for eight years. She had finally made the decision to leave him and had secured a new apartment with the help of her boss. The day before her death, she informed Damron of her intention to leave. Tragically, the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence often proves to be when they decide to escape.
After the shooting, Damron fled the scene and returned to his home in Huntington.
He was apprehended a short time later by the West Virginia State Police. He was subsequently charged with murder. Following his arrest, a magistrate entered an automatic plea of not guilty on his behalf.
Keilee was remembered as a wonderful and loving mother, daughter, sister, and friend who always had a beautiful smile despite her struggles. She was survived by her two sons and one daughter. The restaurant where she worked closed for an undetermined amount of time following the incident.
