Earlier this year, James Rayl left a message for his ex-girlfriend, and showed up at her house the next day. The ex-girlfriend's father told Rayl through the door to get off the porch and opened fire after Rayl tried to break in.
The sister of a man fatally shot while trying to break into his ex-girlfriend’s home believes that authorities did not conduct a full investigation into her brother’s death.
“There wasn’t a full investigation done. They were only on the scene for two hours and then rushed it to the grand jury,” Jessica Colbert said.
In July, Colbert’s brother, James Rayl, left a voicemail for 22-year-old Allyson Duckro, who broke up with him two years prior, saying he wanted to see how she was doin. The next day, he showed up at Allyson's home outside Dayton, Ohio, where she lives with her parents.
“There's some guy on my front porch. He's not leaving. He's got his hands behind his back,” Duckro told 911.
Doorbell camera footage shows Rayl try the door handle, and the father shouted a warning through the door to leave the front porch. But Rayl tried to smash in the door with his shoulder.
That’s when Allyson’s father Mitchell opened fire. Rayl collapsed in the driveway, fatally wounded.
“You saved my life, dad,” Allyson said.
Photos show the damage Rayl did when he forced the front door open. Police interviewed both Mitchell and Allyson at the police station later that day.
“Once I realized he was getting in and the door was open is when I shot,” Mitchell said.
Allyson told police that the voicemail from the previous night had “already scared” her.
A grand jury voted 8 to 1 not to indict the father, citing Ohio's stand your ground law.
Colbert admits it may never be known what her brother hoped to accomplish when he went to the house that day.
“My brother had no history of anger or violence. He was very kind and compassionate,” Colbert said. “I just don’t understand how there was not more compassion for James’s life.”
Shelby County Sheriff James Frye says the incident is a “no-win situation for any of the parties that are involved."
He also said the department conducted a full and thorough investigation.
