Sergeant Carl Dewayne Graham Jr.

Sergeant Graham was killed in an ambush upon arriving home after his shift. A passing motorist found him about 5:00 p.m. lying on the ground near his patrol car still wearing his uniform. Sergeant Graham's residence was just outside Van Buren, Missouri, in rural Carter County. An autopsy revealed had been shot by a rifle and a shotgun.

Officers discovered Sergeant Graham had been investigating a single fatality motor vehicle accident from November 2004 where the driver had fled the scene. The driver was arrested March 23, 2005 and charged with involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident, and was considered a "person of interest" in the murder of Sergeant Graham. On March 29, 2005 he was charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action. He was found guilty on May 22, 2009 and sentenced to death. In 2013 and 2019, the conviction was upheld on appeal by the Missouri Supreme Court; the conviction was also upheld by a Circuit Court in 2017. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition to hear his case.