Lance Collin Shockley was born on January 19, 1977, in Missouri. Little is publicly documented about his early life, upbringing, or background before the events that led to his eventual murder conviction. By 2004, Shockley was living in Van Buren, Missouri, and was involved in a relationship with a woman whose sister was engaged to Jeffrey Bayless—a connection that would later become central to the crime that put Shockley on death row.

On the night of November 26, 2004, Shockley and Jeffrey Bayless, his sister-in-law’s fiancé, were out driving in Bayless’s truck when they were involved in a single-vehicle crash. Bayless was killed in the accident, and Shockley, who survived, fled the scene before authorities arrived. The crash triggered a criminal investigation, which was led by Sergeant Carl Dewayne Graham Jr., a respected 12-year veteran of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Sergeant Graham quickly identified Shockley as the prime suspect in what was likely an involuntary manslaughter case, due to evidence including beer cans, a tequila bottle, and a blood smear found near the passenger side of the vehicle. As the investigation progressed, authorities believed Shockley was becoming desperate to avoid prosecution.

On March 20, 2005, just as Sergeant Carl Graham returned to his home after finishing his patrol shift, he was ambushed and shot dead in what authorities later described as a cold-blooded assassination. Graham, aged 37, was hit by three rifle shots—one of which severed his spinal cord at the neck from behind. The other bullets struck his face and shoulder. He fell onto the pavement, suffering fractures to his skull and ribs.

The murder shocked the law enforcement community and immediately triggered a high-level manhunt.

Three days later, on March 23, 2005, Lance Shockley was arrested—initially on charges connected to the hit-and-run crash that killed Jeffrey Bayless. During questioning and evidence review, investigators also linked him directly to Sergeant Graham’s murder. The circumstantial motive was clear: Shockley killed the officer to stop the manslaughter investigation and avoid being prosecuted for the earlier crash.

On March 29, 2005, Shockley was officially charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Prosecutors wasted no time and filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty the very next day, on March 30, 2005.

Due to intense publicity in Carter County, the trial was relocated to Howell County. Jury selection began in March 2009, and the trial started on March 22, 2009—more than four years after the crime. The prosecution argued that the motive was clear, targeted, and premeditated: eliminate the one person who could tie him to a fatal crash.

The defense argued that the evidence was circumstantial and that Shockley was innocent.

On March 27, 2009, the jury found Shockley guilty of first-degree murder after just three hours of deliberation. However, on March 28, the jury deadlocked during the sentencing phase—unable to unanimously decide between life imprisonment or death.

As required by Missouri law, the final sentencing was left to Judge David Evans, who on May 22, 2009, sentenced 32-year-old Shockley to death by lethal injection. Shockley reportedly showed little emotion as the sentence was read.

Shockley filed a series of appeals over the next 15 years:

• His first appeal was filed on April 30, 2013, and rejected by the Missouri Supreme Court on August 14, 2013.
• Two U.S. Supreme Court appeals were rejected in 2014 and 2016.
• Another state-level appeal was heard in 2018, and dismissed on April 16, 2019.
• His final appeal was denied on March 31, 2025, by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Later that same day, a motion was filed with the Missouri Supreme Court to schedule Shockley’s execution. On June 25, 2025, the court issued a death warrant, setting the execution date for October 14, 2025.

As of September 2025, Lance Collin Shockley remains on death row at the Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri. He is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on October 14, 2025, marking the end of a two-decade legal process stemming from one of Missouri's most chilling law enforcement murders.