August 20, 2025 • 7 mins
On a spring morning in Tennessee, a frantic phone call set off a chain of events no one in Rocky Top could have imagined. A beloved mother was found dead in her bed, her life cut short in the most violent way. At first, the Shawn Willis' story didn’t add up. The details kept shifting. And behind the walls of the family’s home, investigators soon uncovered the kind of truth that leaves scars for generations.
This is a case about anger, betrayal, and a decision that destroyed an entire family.
**************************************
Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific true crime case you’d like to hear about? Let me know with an email or a voice message: https://murderandlove.com/contact
Find the sources used in this episode and learn more about how to support Love and Murder: Heartbreak to Homicide and gain access to even more cases, including bonus episodes, ad-free and intro-free cases, case files and more at: https://murderandlove.com
Music:
℗ lesfreemusic
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/love-and-murder-heartbreak-to-homicide--4348896/support.
This is a case about anger, betrayal, and a decision that destroyed an entire family.
**************************************
Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific true crime case you’d like to hear about? Let me know with an email or a voice message: https://murderandlove.com/contact
Find the sources used in this episode and learn more about how to support Love and Murder: Heartbreak to Homicide and gain access to even more cases, including bonus episodes, ad-free and intro-free cases, case files and more at: https://murderandlove.com
Music:
℗ lesfreemusic
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/love-and-murder-heartbreak-to-homicide--4348896/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
On April twentieth, twenty twenty, around eleven am, the then
sixteen year old Sean Tyler Willis called his girlfriend in
a panic. He told her he couldn't wake his mom up.
He'd found her lying in bed and covered in blood.
The girlfriend's father, a local volunteer firefighter, rushed over to
the house on Andy's Ridge Road in Rocky Top, Tennessee,
(00:23):
a small town that's about twenty six miles northwest of Knoxville.
He found thirty eight year old Sandy Willis lying in
her bed with no pulse and massive head trauma from
being shot twice. He immediately called nine to one one.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Welcome to Love and Murder Heartbreak to Homicide were Kai's
AI co hosts here to bring you your midweek mini episode.
Kai writes the cases and we retell them for you
shorter than Monday's episodes, but just as important. Don't forget
that Kai is off this week, so you're getting many cases.
If you're listening on your favorite platform, go ahead and
(00:59):
so you never miss a case and don't forget. You
can join us on Patreon at patreon dot com Slash
Love and Murder. There's a free tier with extra perks.
But if you really want more bonus cases, ad free
episodes Kai's new series and to keep this podcast one
hundred percent supported by listeners like you, then sign up
(01:20):
for one of our bonus tiers and be part of
the lmthem Patreon dot com Slash Love and Murder. Now
let's get back to your midweek mini.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Sandy Kay Strickland Willis was remembered as a beloved mother,
a breast cancer survivor, and someone who loved horses, butterflies, flowers, books,
arts and crafts, and sewing. But above all, her obituary
said she loved her boys and family most of all.
When police arrived, Sean, who was their primary suspect, gave
(01:53):
several conflicting stories. He first claimed he woke up to
find the front door open and his mom's phone on,
then went upstairs to check on her, but police didn't
believe this story. Then, on May fifth, twenty twenty, during
a voluntary interview with Detective Don Scuglia, Sean broke down
(02:13):
and confessed he admitted he killed his mother because she
had taken away his cell phone. Detectives learned that everything
started after Sandy came home from her night shift she
had taken away Sean's phone to keep him from talking
to his girlfriend, which made Sean angry. The two argued,
but eventually Sandy went upstairs to go to bed.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Sean t Willis confessed to taking his mother's pistol from
off of her nightstand as she was asleep. Sean took
the pistol downstairs as to conceal the sound of loading it.
Then Sean returned back upstairs to his mother's room. Sean
walked around the victim's bed to the opposite side of
the room, positioned himself alongside her bed, and shot her
(02:55):
at close range on the left side of her head,
thus causing her death.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
He actually shot her twice, once in the back of
the head, and when she began to stir, he fired again,
this time into her temple, killing her instantly. Sean was arrested,
initially charged with first degree murder and booked into Anderson
County Jail in September twenty twenty, now at twenty one
(03:21):
years old, Sean ultimately pleaded guilty to second degree murder
on August eleventh, twenty twenty five, just one day before
jury selection was set to begin in Anderson County Criminal
Court Special Judge Zachary Walden accepted the plea. Sean's public defender,
Anne Courier, said her client wanted to avoid trial. Judge
(03:44):
Walden told the court room that while plea deals often
leave both sides unsatisfied, this one provided certainty today and
avoided the long, painful process of trial. Assistant District Attorney
Emily f Abbott presented the state's case, walked through the
timeline from the first phone call to the confession. District
Attorney General Dave Clark said the crime demanded justice and
(04:08):
expressed gratitude that it had been resolved as well as
the law will allow. He praised the combined work of
law enforcement, forensic specialists, and child advocacy experts. Sean was
sentenced to thirty years in prison, to be served in full,
with no chance of parole or early release. Attorney Clark
(04:30):
explained this was shaped by Tennessee's laws for juveniles convicted
of murder, but confirmed that Sean would serve one hundred
percent of his time. During sentencing, Sean addressed his family, saying.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Today I'm taking responsibility for what I did to Mom.
I love you, I miss you, and I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
He said, He hoped they could rebuild a relationship one day,
but his father Jeremy, stood in court and told him.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You were very selfish in many ways. You took my wife,
the woman I was supposed to grow old with. Now
I'll never get to experience that. With your selfish act,
your brothers will never hear I love you from her again.
I love you, but I do not agree in any way,
shape or form with what you have done. Mom didn't
deserve what she had done to her.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Sean's older brother, Lucian, also spoke.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You didn't just take a life. You took our mother,
the strongest woman I have ever known, my best friend,
my anchor. You took more than a mother. You took
the family's peace, and that is not something you can undo.
The brother I knew is gone. The person you are
now is a stranger, and that bond is broken forever.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
District Attorney Clark closed by thanking the family for their strength,
saying they had suffered a wound that cannot heal. The
case of Sean Willis shows how anger, in a single
irreversible moment, destroyed a family and left behind a loss
they will carry for the rest of their lives.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
What do you think of this case? A mother imposed
a rule and followed through, and a son couldn't control
his emotions to the point that he murdered his mother.
I like that his father was very upfront with him,
telling him how selfish his actions were. You wanted your
phone to speak with your girlfriends so badly that you
shot your mom. Now you're in jail without your phone,
(06:21):
without a way to speak on the phone whenever you
want to, and without your girlfriend. What was the point?
As Kai reminds, youeriotically control yourself. That's all we have
for you today. Don't forget to check out the patreon
patreon dot com slash Love and Murder. Part of joining
the patreon using the bonus tears is that you get
(06:41):
case extras, So for this case, you get pictures and
video of the trial sentencing. I also just dropped a
bonus case of a woman who was pulled over for
an expired license and fake tags, only for cops to
find something horrible that they weren't expecting in her car.
Patreon dot com slash Love and Murder. Join us us
over there and support the stories that deserve to be heard.
(07:03):
Thanks for listening, Thanks for your time. And we'll see
you in the next case.
On April twentieth, twenty twenty, around eleven am, the then
sixteen year old Sean Tyler Willis called his girlfriend in
a panic. He told her he couldn't wake his mom up.
He'd found her lying in bed and covered in blood.
The girlfriend's father, a local volunteer firefighter, rushed over to
the house on Andy's Ridge Road in Rocky Top, Tennessee,
(00:23):
a small town that's about twenty six miles northwest of Knoxville.
He found thirty eight year old Sandy Willis lying in
her bed with no pulse and massive head trauma from
being shot twice. He immediately called nine to one one.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Welcome to Love and Murder Heartbreak to Homicide were Kai's
AI co hosts here to bring you your midweek mini episode.
Kai writes the cases and we retell them for you
shorter than Monday's episodes, but just as important. Don't forget
that Kai is off this week, so you're getting many cases.
If you're listening on your favorite platform, go ahead and
(00:59):
so you never miss a case and don't forget. You
can join us on Patreon at patreon dot com Slash
Love and Murder. There's a free tier with extra perks.
But if you really want more bonus cases, ad free
episodes Kai's new series and to keep this podcast one
hundred percent supported by listeners like you, then sign up
(01:20):
for one of our bonus tiers and be part of
the lmthem Patreon dot com Slash Love and Murder. Now
let's get back to your midweek mini.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Sandy Kay Strickland Willis was remembered as a beloved mother,
a breast cancer survivor, and someone who loved horses, butterflies, flowers, books,
arts and crafts, and sewing. But above all, her obituary
said she loved her boys and family most of all.
When police arrived, Sean, who was their primary suspect, gave
(01:53):
several conflicting stories. He first claimed he woke up to
find the front door open and his mom's phone on,
then went upstairs to check on her, but police didn't
believe this story. Then, on May fifth, twenty twenty, during
a voluntary interview with Detective Don Scuglia, Sean broke down
(02:13):
and confessed he admitted he killed his mother because she
had taken away his cell phone. Detectives learned that everything
started after Sandy came home from her night shift she
had taken away Sean's phone to keep him from talking
to his girlfriend, which made Sean angry. The two argued,
but eventually Sandy went upstairs to go to bed.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Sean t Willis confessed to taking his mother's pistol from
off of her nightstand as she was asleep. Sean took
the pistol downstairs as to conceal the sound of loading it.
Then Sean returned back upstairs to his mother's room. Sean
walked around the victim's bed to the opposite side of
the room, positioned himself alongside her bed, and shot her
(02:55):
at close range on the left side of her head,
thus causing her death.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
He actually shot her twice, once in the back of
the head, and when she began to stir, he fired again,
this time into her temple, killing her instantly. Sean was arrested,
initially charged with first degree murder and booked into Anderson
County Jail in September twenty twenty, now at twenty one
(03:21):
years old, Sean ultimately pleaded guilty to second degree murder
on August eleventh, twenty twenty five, just one day before
jury selection was set to begin in Anderson County Criminal
Court Special Judge Zachary Walden accepted the plea. Sean's public defender,
Anne Courier, said her client wanted to avoid trial. Judge
(03:44):
Walden told the court room that while plea deals often
leave both sides unsatisfied, this one provided certainty today and
avoided the long, painful process of trial. Assistant District Attorney
Emily f Abbott presented the state's case, walked through the
timeline from the first phone call to the confession. District
Attorney General Dave Clark said the crime demanded justice and
(04:08):
expressed gratitude that it had been resolved as well as
the law will allow. He praised the combined work of
law enforcement, forensic specialists, and child advocacy experts. Sean was
sentenced to thirty years in prison, to be served in full,
with no chance of parole or early release. Attorney Clark
(04:30):
explained this was shaped by Tennessee's laws for juveniles convicted
of murder, but confirmed that Sean would serve one hundred
percent of his time. During sentencing, Sean addressed his family, saying.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Today I'm taking responsibility for what I did to Mom.
I love you, I miss you, and I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
He said, He hoped they could rebuild a relationship one day,
but his father Jeremy, stood in court and told him.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You were very selfish in many ways. You took my wife,
the woman I was supposed to grow old with. Now
I'll never get to experience that. With your selfish act,
your brothers will never hear I love you from her again.
I love you, but I do not agree in any way,
shape or form with what you have done. Mom didn't
deserve what she had done to her.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Sean's older brother, Lucian, also spoke.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You didn't just take a life. You took our mother,
the strongest woman I have ever known, my best friend,
my anchor. You took more than a mother. You took
the family's peace, and that is not something you can undo.
The brother I knew is gone. The person you are
now is a stranger, and that bond is broken forever.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
District Attorney Clark closed by thanking the family for their strength,
saying they had suffered a wound that cannot heal. The
case of Sean Willis shows how anger, in a single
irreversible moment, destroyed a family and left behind a loss
they will carry for the rest of their lives.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
What do you think of this case? A mother imposed
a rule and followed through, and a son couldn't control
his emotions to the point that he murdered his mother.
I like that his father was very upfront with him,
telling him how selfish his actions were. You wanted your
phone to speak with your girlfriends so badly that you
shot your mom. Now you're in jail without your phone,
(06:21):
without a way to speak on the phone whenever you
want to, and without your girlfriend. What was the point?
As Kai reminds, youeriotically control yourself. That's all we have
for you today. Don't forget to check out the patreon
patreon dot com slash Love and Murder. Part of joining
the patreon using the bonus tears is that you get
(06:41):
case extras, So for this case, you get pictures and
video of the trial sentencing. I also just dropped a
bonus case of a woman who was pulled over for
an expired license and fake tags, only for cops to
find something horrible that they weren't expecting in her car.
Patreon dot com slash Love and Murder. Join us us
over there and support the stories that deserve to be heard.
(07:03):
Thanks for listening, Thanks for your time. And we'll see
you in the next case.
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