Sarah McKinley (born 1993) is an Oklahoma single mother who killed an intruder in her home to protect her three-month-old son on New Year's Eve, in 2011.
New Year's Eve 2011[]
On New Year's Eve, 2011, Sarah McKinley, then 18, was at home with her three-month-old baby. Suddenly, two men began aggressively knocking on her door, one of them armed with a hunting knife. She believed that one of the men was stalking her and armed herself with a 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun and a pistol. What she didn't know was that the men were drug addicts looking for the cancer medication left behind by her late husband, Kenneth McKinley.
McKinley called 911, the American number for emergency services, and asked the dispatcher if she was allowed to shoot the men who were breaking in. She was told "you do what you have to do to protect your baby." During the call, the burglars broke in. As soon as he crossed the threshold, McKinley shot 24-year-old Justin Martin dead in the chest. His accomplice, 29-year-old Dustin "Dusty" Stewart, turned himself in to police.
On the 3rd of August, 2015, Dustin "Dusty" Stewart pleaded no contest to a burglary charge and received a 10-year suspended sentence in the death of Justin Martin.