Leicester couple killed in Ohio after long-running dispute

A Leicester couple were shot and killed Feb. 12 after traveling to Ohio to confront the wife's ex-husband over a long-running financial dispute.

Robert Reed Sanders and his wife, Cheryl Sanders, who had lived in their Leicester subdivision for about four years, died after being shot in Greene County, Ohio, according to the Dayton Daily News and local police.

Adrian King, who described himself as a friend of the couple and Reed Sanders' business partner, told the Citizen Times on Feb. 14 that the dispute centered around a trust fund for two daughters Cheryl Sanders had with her ex-husband, Robert “Lindsey” Duncan. The money was supposed to pay for the girls' college expenses, King said.

Duncan lives in Ohio with his current wife, Molly.

"I knew they were going to Ohio to talk to him," King said in a phone interview from Texas. "I begged them not to."

911 call: 'I shot them...'

The Dayton Daily News reported that Greene County Sheriff’s officials have said Reed and Cheryl Sanders died in a shooting just south of Yellow Springs, Ohio.

The paper reported that audio from 911 calls "includes a man identifying himself as Robert 'Lindsey' Duncan, telling police that he shot two people who threatened to kill him and his wife at their property."

The newspaper said in the call, Lindsey Duncan told a dispatcher, "I shot them, they came up to our window and had a gun pointed at my wife’s head."

The Citizen Times contacted the Greene County Sheriff's Office in the evening on Feb. 14. A dispatcher said no press release was available on the incident and no spokesperson was available to comment.

'All of a sudden, hell began'

In an interview Feb. 14, Lindsey and Molly Duncan told the Daily News they were ambushed. Lindsey Duncan said he and his wife had just returned to their home the morning of Feb. 12 when a man with a camouflage mask and hoodie ran up and held a gun to Molly’s head while the two were getting the mail.

“I thought it was a bad nightmare," Lindsey Duncan told the Daily News. "Whatever happened after that was instinct. All of a sudden, hell began."

Lindsey Duncan told the paper that law enforcement was “exactly right” to say the Sanderses ambushed him. The newspaper noted that an incident report lists the case as a justifiable homicide.

The newspaper also said Cheryl Sanders and Robert Reed Sanders died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Greene County coroner. The coroner's office is still studying the ballistics "to determine who fired shots and how many times," the Daily News stated.

Molly Duncan told the paper the Sanderses did not try to discuss anything with them.

"The word ambush is exactly what it was,” Molly Duncan said. “We were caught off-guard. They said nothing and they started shooting at us.”

An ugly divorce

The Dayton Daily News cited court records showing that Lindsey Duncan and Cheryl Sanders "signed a prenuptial agreement in 1999, were married, then divorced in 2009."

"Since the divorce, the records indicate their relationship remained sour," the paper reported. In 2016, according to court papers cited by the newspaper, Duncan sued Cheryl Sanders and Robert Sanders "for defamation, slander, libel and other accusations."

The lawsuit, according to the newspaper, states, "Defendant Cheryl provided a written statement to both boards of Genesis Pure and Genesis Today, as well as non-board members, employees and various members of the plaintiff’s family. This statement accused the Plaintiff of false, malicious, defamatory and vicious accusations, which defamed both the plaintiff and Genesis Today and Genesis Pure.”

The lawsuit, the paper states, claims Lindsey Duncan was subjected to numerous attempts at extortion and harassment. Motions in the lawsuit have been filed as recently as September of last year, the Daily News reported.

Stunt double, nutrition spokeswoman

The newspaper reported that Cheryl Sanders was "a celebrity spokeswoman and stunt woman" who had worked as a stunt double "for Brooke Shields, Sharon Stone and other A-list actresses."

Robert Reed Sanders had been licensed in real estate in Texas, the paper reported.

"Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer said Thursday the man had a criminal record, but he did not elaborate," the newspaper reported.

Lindsey Duncan, the paper said, is the founder and CEO of Genesis Today and had appeared on the "Dr. Oz Show" and "The View" nearly a decade ago to talk about weight loss.

Friend doesn't believe 'ambush' claim

King said he worked with Reed Sanders on his company, Zen Formulas, a nutrition business. King said he does not believe the Duncans' version of events.

After Sanders' father died, King, 81, said he became the younger man's confidant and a father figure. He's known Reed Sanders for 15 years.

A retired minister, King said he has known Cheryl Sanders for five years and performed the marriage ceremony for the couple in Clearwater, Florida, in December 2015. He said the Sanderses lived in Austin, Texas, before moving to Buncombe County, having become smitten with the mountains after visiting.

The relationship between the ex-spouses has been contentious for years, King said.

"He has given them nothing but hell ever since she married him," King said of Lindsey Duncan, adding that the ex-husband was "domineering" toward Cheryl Sanders.

"He didn't like the fact that she had remarried and was happy," King said.

A trust fund for the two daughters Cheryl Sanders had with Lindsey Duncan was the source of the friction, King said. The daughters are both in college and needed money for related expenses and well as living costs, King said.

"Part of the problem is he had to sign off on wherever they went to school, and they didn’t go to the schools he wanted them to, so he refused on signing off on letting them have the money," King said.

The dispute had gone on for years and involved a lawsuit, King said.

"I tried to act as an intermediary, because neither one of them could talk to him without him — not cooperating, is the nicest word I can say," King said.

Couple carried guns but were 'good Christians'

King said the Sanders were "good Christians" who regularly attended church, but he acknowledged they both had guns.

"They carried them all the time," King said. "She carried one in her purse, and he carried one in a little saddle in the back of his pants. They both carried guns because they were afraid of Lindsey..."

In Leicester, neighbor Barb Pestinger said she's known the Sanders for several years and was particularly close with Reed Sanders' mother, who lived with the couple in a basement apartment. The couple came to Pestinger's church with her several times, and they regularly attended the Rock Church in Asheville, Pestinger said.

"In my opinion, they were really, really, really good people," Pestinger said. "They were religious and cared about everybody. I don't think either one of them had a bone in their body where they didn't care about everybody else, no matter what."

Asked if the "ambush" story sounded plausible to her, Pestinger said, "No, no, no, no."

"I don't think Reed would even go out hunting and kill an animal," Pestinger said. "I find this so hard to believe. I just can’t believe he would put a mask on and ambush them with a gun and hold a gun to her head. I don’t believe that for one minute."

Pestinger said she, too, had heard from the Sanderses and others about the long-running dispute over the trust fund. She said her heart goes out to the family, particularly Reed Sanders' mother.

Local law enforcement officials were at the Sanders' Leicester home much of Feb. 14, Pestinger said.

Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Aaron Sarver said Feb. 14 deputies did execute a search warrant on the home of Reed and Cheryl Sanders in Leicester, but he had no further information. He said it’s “an ongoing investigation.”

The website for Zen Nutrition says the Sanderses have been "involved in nutrition and fitness their entire lives.

"They are both educators and public speakers who have dedicated their careers to helping others realize their potential through natural health modalities, nutrition, supplementation and exercise. As a married team, they spend their days improving other people's lives through their nutritional expertise and weight loss/detox programs."

Pestinger said she was still in shock Feb. 14 at the loss of the Sanderses. She hopes the details of what happened will emerge.

"They were really, really good people," Pestinger said. "I just can't believe this happened."