A third person sought shelter as deputies responded to the confrontation that ultimately left a mother and teenage daughter dead.
HOUSE SPRINGS, Mo. — As deputies headed toward a House Springs neighborhood on July 25, emergency dispatchers were receiving fragmentary reports of gunfire and a person hiding inside a home, an early glimpse of the fear surrounding a shooting that would kill a mother and her teenage daughter.
Later investigative accounts identified the victims as Jessica Lashly, 38, and Jersey Greer, 17, and their neighbor as Robert Winkelman, 73. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Winkelman had walked to Lashly’s residence after becoming frustrated about activity there, confronted people at the property and shot Lashly. Investigators say Greer then attempted to provide first aid to her mother before Winkelman shot her as well. Both victims died at a hospital on July 27. Winkelman shot himself when deputies approached him, authorities said, and died Aug. 2. Prosecutors had charged him with two counts each of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Dispatch audio obtained after the killings added another layer to the public record. According to reporting on the recordings, a young person who was at the residence sought cover in a closet while authorities were still responding. Dispatchers were trying to sort out reports from the scene and determine how many people had been wounded as law enforcement traveled to the neighborhood. The recordings do not replace the sheriff’s later investigative findings, but they show the uncertainty of the first minutes, before deputies had secured the area and before officials knew that the injuries would eventually become three deaths.
The sheriff’s office later provided a more complete sequence. Investigators said Winkelman had continuing frustrations about activities at the neighboring residence and decided to approach people there. He walked down the street carrying a firearm, authorities said, and questioned those present. Public accounts have described the dispute as involving noise, while the sheriff’s wording referred more broadly to activity at the home. Exactly what had occurred between the neighbors before that evening remains less clear. Authorities have not released a comprehensive history of prior disputes, complaints or contacts that would show when Winkelman’s frustration began or whether anyone expected a confrontation that night.
Investigators allege the encounter escalated after Lashly responded to Winkelman’s questioning. He drew the firearm and shot her, the sheriff’s office said. Greer then tried to help her wounded mother. Rather than leaving the scene, the 17-year-old attempted to provide first aid, according to investigators. Authorities allege Winkelman then shot Greer. He also chased a third person while armed, the sheriff’s office said, although that person escaped without being shot. Those witness accounts helped investigators reconstruct the event after the people at its center were taken to hospitals with critical injuries.
The emergency response then shifted from the victims’ home toward Winkelman. Deputies found him outside his own residence and still in possession of the gun, authorities said. As officers approached, Winkelman shot himself. Lashly, Greer and Winkelman were transported for emergency medical treatment. The mother and daughter survived through the weekend but died July 27. Winkelman remained in critical condition longer. His death on Aug. 2 meant that everyone who suffered a gunshot wound in the confrontation ultimately died, while surviving witnesses became the principal sources available to investigators for firsthand accounts of what had unfolded.
The legal response developed in stages. While Lashly and Greer remained alive, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Winkelman with two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action. After their deaths, the assault charges were upgraded to two counts of first-degree murder. Winkelman’s own hospitalization prevented the case from advancing normally, and his death stopped it altogether before a trial. The sheriff’s findings therefore remain investigative allegations rather than facts established by a criminal verdict, even as officials have publicly attributed the shootings to him based on the evidence and witness statements they collected.
For surviving relatives, the emergency recordings and investigative details document only the worst minutes of lives that were otherwise tied closely to family, school, work and sports. Lashly worked as an office manager for Lashly Tree Service after studying business management, according to a shared obituary. Her family remembered her as a mother whose children came first and who also enjoyed working on cars. Jersey was preparing to enter her senior year at Northwest High School. She played lacrosse, including in a select summer league, and was remembered by people close to her as outgoing and quick to encourage others.
Jersey’s twin sister, Justice Greer, was not at the residence during the shooting. In later interviews, she described a household in which she, Jersey and their mother were exceptionally close. Her memories of Jersey focused on humor, empathy and a habit of noticing when somebody else needed support. A former lacrosse coach offered a similar picture of a teenager who could influence the mood and outlook of teammates. Against that background, the sheriff’s account of Jersey trying to aid her mother became more than a detail in the investigative timeline for those who knew her; it became part of how they described her character.
Lashly’s sister also publicly expressed the difficulty of knowing that the man investigators held responsible would never face a criminal trial or answer the family’s remaining questions. That frustration reflects one consequence of Winkelman’s death. A trial might have developed a fuller public account of previous interactions, physical evidence, witness testimony and the state’s theory of motive. Instead, questions remain about the precise history of the neighborhood dispute. Authorities have said Winkelman was frustrated with activity at the residence, but that description leaves unresolved how a disagreement that appeared to concern ordinary neighborhood conduct reached the point of gunfire.
The dispatch traffic is significant for a different reason: it preserves the confusion before the official narrative was assembled. Emergency responders initially dealt with incomplete information, a frightened person seeking shelter and reports of gunshots. Investigators later organized those moments into a sequence involving Winkelman’s approach, Lashly’s shooting, Greer’s attempt to help, the pursuit of another person and Winkelman’s retreat toward his own residence. That progression shows how quickly the event moved from a neighbor confrontation into an emergency involving several people and two nearby homes.
By the time the investigation’s broad outline became public, the story had shifted from rescue to homicide and then to remembrance. Lashly and Greer were both organ donors, according to their obituary. Jersey’s school and lacrosse communities mourned a student who had been preparing for another season and her final year of high school. Justice Greer was left without her twin and mother. And because Winkelman died before the murder charges could proceed, no courtroom process remains to add another official account. The sheriff’s findings, witness statements, dispatch recordings and family memories now form the principal public record of the House Springs shooting.
Author note: Last updated September 20, 2026.