Inset: Christopher Viley (Randolph County Sheriff's Office). Background: The residential area near where Viley allegedly shot and killed a woman in Moberly, Mo. (Google Maps).
A Missouri man is behind bars after shooting and killing a woman at her own home the day after attending a barbecue there with his children, law enforcement in the Show-Me State allege.
Christopher Viley, 51, stands accused of one count each of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 57-year-old Cheryl Gravitt, according to the Moberly Police Department.
The violence occurred at a residence on Morehead Street in Moberly, a small town some 40 miles due north of Columbia.
At around 7 p.m. on Aug. 23, a 911 call came in about a loud "pop" and a woman lying on the ground and bleeding, according to a probable cause statement obtained by Law&Crime.
When officers arrived, they found Gravitt lying in the driveway "with an apparent gunshot wound to the back of her head," police said.
The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead, according to law enforcement.
Authorities spoke with a confidential witness who said they were sitting on the front porch of a nearby house "when they heard the sound of a gun shot," according to the charging document. In quick succession, the witness saw the victim "falling to the ground" as the defendant was "running away from" the area, police said.
Another witness told investigators "they heard a loud pop" and saw "a black male subject wearing a blue shirt standing in the driveway" where the victim was lying, the probable cause statement says.
Police said they also obtained surveillance video showing Viley "in the area" immediately after shooting and "wearing a blue shirt."
On Aug. 27, the defendant was arrested after "a brief standoff" roughly half a mile away from where Gravitt was shot, police said.
On Monday, Viley pleaded not guilty, according to a courtroom report by Columbia-based NBC and The CW Plus affiliate KOMU.
At the time of the attack, Gravitt was taking out the trash, family members told the TV station. They also said Viley was a family friend.
The night before the violence, the defendant had taken his minor children to Gravitt's house for a barbecue, the family told the TV station.
"Everything was great," Gravitt's girlfriend said. "Chris then came back later that night, and we all played dice and were hanging out. Everything was fine. This was Momma C to him; that's why I don't understand. And this is tearing me apart because he was like an uncle to me."
Other family members said the pair were so close that Viley often took his children to Gravitt's house to watch cartoons.
"She helped everybody, and then for her to be gunned down in her own driveway," the victim's twin sister said. "How not fair."
In the probable cause statement, police noted Viley has two previous convictions for assault — both from the 1990s — and one count of resisting or interfering with arrest — from 2022. The defendant was also arrested for domestic assault this February, police explained.
Viley is currently detained in the Randolph County Jail with no bond. He is next slated to appear in court on Sept. 8.