On a rural farm in Rawlins County, near Rexford, Kansas, a tragic event unfolded on February 1, 2019, leading to the death of 74-year-old Gary Eugene Withers. A White male, Withers was a lifelong resident of the area, having graduated from Rexford High School in 1963. He was a farmer who, alongside his wife Mary, raised cattle and pigs and grew crops. They also ran a custom harvesting business that took them from Oklahoma to North Dakota.
On that Friday afternoon, emergency services were dispatched to the Withers' farm after a family member reported a shooting. Upon arrival, law enforcement discovered Gary Withers deceased inside the farmhouse from an apparent gunshot wound. The devastating scene extended beyond the home, as about half a mile away, the body of his 41-year-old son, Daniel "Danny" E. Withers, was also found with a fatal gunshot wound.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist the Rawlins County Sheriff's Office with the case. Following preliminary autopsies, the KBI determined that Gary Withers' death was a homicide. The investigation concluded that the incident was a murder-suicide. Evidence suggested that Danny Withers shot and killed his father before taking his own life. As the perpetrator was also deceased, no arrests were made in connection with Gary Withers' death. The investigation, while concluding the sequence of events, left a community to grapple with the loss of two of its members in a single, heartbreaking incident.
