On a Saturday evening in May 2020, a child's birthday party in Hennessey, Oklahoma, turned into the scene of a fatal shooting that claimed the life of 33-year-old Christopher Shane Robinson. The male victim was attending the gathering when an altercation reportedly took place in the road outside the residence. Gunshots were fired, and Robinson was struck. He was rushed to a hospital in Enid but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Immediately following the shooting, a chaotic series of events unfolded on a nearby highway. A pickup truck, driven by Benjamin Millis of Waukomis, was involved in a rollover crash about two miles north of Hennessey on U.S. 81. The vehicle, which also carried Bonnie Millis, Michael Porter, and a 4-year-old child, had left the scene of the shooting. Porter was critically injured in the crash and airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital. Investigators with the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Office and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol believed the shooting and the rollover were connected. A suspect in the shooting was questioned by authorities and subsequently released.
In the years that followed, the case saw further developments. While no charges were initially filed in direct connection to Robinson's death, another man who was at the party, Chad Dowell, faced legal consequences for his actions after the shooting. Dowell pursued the vehicle that left the scene and rammed it, causing the rollover crash. He pleaded guilty to multiple counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and in early 2024 was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years of probation.
Seeking further recourse, Christopher Robinson's family and other party attendees successfully petitioned to have a grand jury investigate the shooting. In the summer of 2025, a Kingfisher County grand jury was empaneled to hear evidence and decide if charges should be brought against Benjamin Millis for Robinson's death. After hearing from numerous witnesses, the grand jury concluded its proceedings without issuing an indictment.
