In the early morning hours of January 22, 2017, a night of drinking between friends in Vancouver, Washington, took a tragic and fatal turn. Ian Patrick McKay, a 37-year-old Caucasian male, was shot and killed by his friend, TJ Patrick Ferres, then 55, inside Ferres's home in the Hearthwood neighborhood. The evening had begun with several friends, including McKay, gathering at Ferres's residence for board games before heading to a nearby bar.
After returning to Ferres's house around 1
a.m., McKay, who was too intoxicated to drive, was invited to spend the night. An argument erupted between the two men, the details of which remain contested. Ferres claimed that an intoxicated McKay became aggressive, threatening to break his neck and talking about killing people. Fearing for his safety, Ferres stated he retrieved a pump-action shotgun from his bedroom.
Returning to the kitchen, Ferres fired a single shot, striking McKay in the torso from a distance of 10 to 15 feet. After the shooting, Ferres woke his sleeping girlfriend and asked her to call 911. While she was on the phone with dispatchers, she witnessed Ferres stomp on McKay's head multiple times as he lay unresponsive on the kitchen floor. When police and first responders arrived shortly after 4 a.m., Ian McKay was pronounced dead at the scene from a shotgun wound to the torso.
TJ Patrick Ferres was arrested and initially charged with second-degree murder, which was later upgraded to first-degree murder after prosecutors argued that the act of retrieving the shotgun and stomping on McKay's head demonstrated premeditation. Ferres maintained that he acted in self-defense. In September 2018, Ferres pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. The following month, a judge who expressed disbelief in Ferres's self-defense claim sentenced him to 18 years in prison for the death of his friend. In addition to the criminal proceedings, McKay's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ferres on behalf of her son and his two daughters.
