Jersey Greer was trying to help her wounded mother when investigators say their armed neighbor shot the 17-year-old.
HOUSE SPRINGS, Mo. — Jersey Greer was weeks away from starting her senior year of high school when authorities say the 17-year-old rushed to help her wounded mother during a confrontation with a neighbor and was herself shot, leaving a surviving twin sister and community to mourn both of them.
Greer and her mother, Jessica Lashly, 38, died July 27 from injuries suffered two days earlier at their House Springs home. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office identified their neighbor, 73-year-old Robert Winkelman, as the gunman and said he had gone to the residence after developing frustrations about activity there. Investigators allege he shot Lashly after an exchange, then shot Greer as she attempted to provide first aid. Winkelman later shot himself when deputies approached him, authorities said. He died Aug. 2, ending a criminal case in which prosecutors had charged him with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action.
For Greer’s family, the official chronology describes only part of the loss. Jersey had a twin sister, Justice Greer, and the two were entering what was supposed to be their final year together at Northwest High School. Jersey played lacrosse and had also competed in a select league during the summer. Family members and a former coach described her as outgoing, funny and attentive to people around her. The family’s shared obituary says she made friends easily and cared deeply about sports, relatives and friends. Those details have become central to public remembrances of the teenager rather than the violence that ended her life.
Lashly’s life was similarly rooted in her family. According to the obituary, she studied business management at Hickey College and worked as an office manager for Lashly Tree Service. She enjoyed working on cars, but relatives described motherhood as the most important part of her life. Justice later told reporters that her mother worked hard to support the household. The surviving daughter described an especially close family unit built around Lashly and her two girls. After the deaths, relatives repeatedly asked that attention remain on the mother and daughter and the people who loved them rather than on Winkelman.
The shooting took place the evening of July 25. Investigators said Winkelman walked from his home to Lashly’s residence with a firearm and began questioning people who were there about activities at the property. Authorities have referred to the conflict as a neighbor dispute and reports have described his concern as involving noise. The sheriff’s office said Winkelman had experienced continuing frustration over activity at the residence, though officials have not publicly released a detailed history of earlier complaints or encounters. Investigators allege that after Lashly made a comment during the exchange, Winkelman drew the gun and shot her.
Greer’s response immediately became one of the case’s defining facts. The sheriff’s office said the teenager attempted to give first aid to her mother after Lashly was wounded. Winkelman then shot Greer, investigators allege. Authorities also said he chased a third person while armed but did not shoot that individual. Dispatch audio obtained later by Fox News indicated that another young person took shelter in a closet as emergency calls were being handled. The recording added a view of the fear inside the home as law enforcement was still trying to determine exactly what was happening and send deputies to the address.
When deputies reached the area at about 8:30 p.m., they found Winkelman outside his residence with the firearm, according to authorities. The sheriff’s office said he shot himself as deputies approached to confront him. All three wounded people were taken for hospital treatment. Lashly and Greer remained alive for about two days before their deaths on July 27. Winkelman stayed hospitalized in critical condition longer and died Aug. 2. Investigators said multiple witnesses had provided accounts of the attack, allowing the sheriff’s office to piece together the sequence even while those directly wounded could not provide full statements.
The criminal allegations evolved while Winkelman was hospitalized. Prosecutors first filed two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action while Lashly and Greer were still alive. Their deaths changed the legal posture of the case. The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office then filed two first-degree murder counts in place of the assault allegations while retaining the armed criminal action counts. Winkelman died before he could appear for a trial on those accusations. As a result, there was no verdict and no courtroom finding of guilt, even though investigators publicly identified him as the person responsible for the shootings.
That absence of a trial also means some of the questions surrounding the confrontation may never receive the type of examination that would occur during criminal proceedings. Authorities have said Winkelman was frustrated with activities at the neighboring property, but public reports do not establish the full history of the relationship between him and Lashly’s household. It remains unclear from the released information whether he had made prior formal complaints, how often the neighbors interacted or why the July 25 exchange escalated so abruptly. Family members have said they were left with unanswered questions after the man authorities blamed also died.
What relatives have emphasized instead is the relationship between Lashly and her daughters. Justice was away from the home when the shooting took place, according to reporting about the family. She later described Jersey as someone who could tell when other people needed encouragement. A former lacrosse coach offered a similar account, remembering a teenager who had a strong effect on teammates. Those descriptions took on added weight after authorities disclosed that Jersey was wounded while going to her mother’s aid. To the surviving family, the action was not an isolated act but an extension of the teenager they already knew.
The mother and daughter also shared a decision that continued to affect other families after their deaths: both were organ donors, according to their obituary. Relatives highlighted that fact as they announced the deaths and described their lives. It offered a point of continuity amid a sudden loss that removed two members of the same household within hours of each other. Jersey’s death came just before a school year in which she would have been a senior, while Lashly’s death left Justice without the mother she described as the constant provider for their small family.
The case has become both a homicide investigation and a story of a family reduced from three to one. For authorities, the known sequence runs from Winkelman’s approach to the residence, through the shootings, the hospital deaths and the murder charges that could never be adjudicated. For relatives and teammates, the lasting account begins elsewhere: with a mother who organized her life around her children and a 17-year-old lacrosse player whose final documented action was an effort to help that mother. With Winkelman dead, no further prosecution is expected, leaving the family’s remembrance to carry much of the story forward.
Author note: Last updated September 20, 2026.