In the summer of 2014, a family argument in a rural Kentucky community escalated to a fatal conclusion, leaving one man dead and his uncle facing a murder charge. The victim was Stephen Jack Sturgill, a 44-year-old male who was originally from Tennessee. On Wednesday, July 2, 2014, at a mobile home about 10 miles east of London, Kentucky, an apparent dispute broke out between Sturgill and his 61-year-old uncle, Gary Collier.
The disagreement took a tragic turn when Collier is alleged to
have used a 12-gauge shotgun, firing a blast into his nephew's chest. Laurel County sheriff's deputies were called to the residence off the right fork of Collier Road at approximately 3:45 p.m. Upon their arrival, they discovered Sturgill's body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Within hours of the discovery, law enforcement located and arrested Gary Collier. He was taken into custody on Wednesday night and formally charged with the murder of his nephew. Collier was subsequently lodged in the Laurel County jail to await legal proceedings. The incident left the local community and the victim's family, including his two children, grappling with the sudden and violent loss of a loved one at the hands of a relative.
