The KBI says evidence uncovered after six people died in Winfield points to a premeditated plan involving both parents.

WINFIELD, Kan. — Kansas investigators say a mother and father jointly planned to kill their four young children before both parents died in an Aug. 11 shooting, a conclusion that substantially changed authorities’ initial account of what happened inside the family’s Winfield home.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Ronald Williams Sr., 53, and Kelly L. George, 44, shared responsibility for a premeditated plan to kill Carol A. Williams, 9; Ronald H. Williams Jr., 7; Sarah K. Williams, 5; and Kelly M. Magee-Williams, 3, and then die themselves. The agency has not publicly disclosed the evidence that led investigators to conclude George participated in the plan. It did say investigators found documentation showing George had purchased a Taurus .38 Special revolver in February 2025. The same firearm was recovered at the scene. The KBI said its investigation remained open and its findings would be presented to the Cowley County attorney when the case is completed.

The finding marked a significant revision from the first account released on the day of the deaths. At about 8:50 a.m. Aug. 11, Winfield police were sent to a home in the 400 block of West Ninth Avenue after Williams called dispatchers and said he had killed his family and intended to kill himself. Officers arriving at the house heard one gunshot and established a perimeter. They entered at about 10:57 a.m. and found Williams, George and the four children with gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel pronounced all six dead at the scene. The KBI initially said investigators believed Williams killed George and the children before making the call and then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after officers arrived.

Three days later, the agency said the developing evidence no longer supported that account in full. Investigators said they did not believe an argument or physical confrontation immediately preceded the killings. Instead, the KBI said evidence indicated Williams and George had jointly made plans to kill the children and then themselves. The agency also said it had found no evidence that anyone outside the couple was responsible. Investigators have not publicly explained how long the alleged plan existed, what specific evidence tied George to it or what role authorities believe each parent played in the children’s deaths.

The new finding also put earlier contacts between the household and local authorities under renewed scrutiny. Winfield Police Chief Robbie DeLong said officers had been involved in roughly 20 to 22 reports connected to the family. Some calls were complaints about Williams or George, while others were made by the couple themselves. Publicly reported police records describe confrontations, complaints about alleged conspiracies and incidents in which officers struggled to follow some of the couple’s assertions. Those contacts stretched back well before Aug. 11, but police have said the earlier encounters did not provide officers with the legal basis they believed was necessary to predict or prevent the killings.

One police record from November 2024 described an officer’s concern about the couple’s agitated behavior and statements. The officer wrote that Williams and George appeared either to be experiencing mental health problems or using illegal drugs and advised other officers to use caution when dealing with them. That observation did not establish a diagnosis, and authorities have not announced a medical or toxicology finding explaining the couple’s behavior. The KBI described a broader pattern of what it called nonsensical statements made to law enforcement, neighbors and other members of the community before the deaths. Investigators have not publicly identified a motive for the plan they say existed.

Other records show that police had responded to reports involving firearms before the fatal shooting. In October 2024, a woman walking a dog told police Williams had pulled a gun during an encounter. A police record said Williams told officers he had been protecting himself from the dog. In October 2025, a delivery driver reported that Williams displayed a firearm after the driver used the family’s driveway to turn around. The driver did not want to pursue charges, according to reporting based on police records. Winfield police have also said prosecutors had reviewed whether Williams could lawfully possess a firearm in light of his criminal history and concluded that the age of the relevant conviction affected the application of state law.

Williams had prior criminal convictions extending back decades. Local reporting based on court and correctional records found that he was required to register as a sex offender because of a 1998 conviction involving attempted indecent liberties with a child. Other court records documented a history of criminal cases, including violence. Those records are relevant to questions raised after the Winfield deaths, but investigators have not said that Williams’ criminal history establishes why the four children were killed or when the alleged plan described by the KBI began.

The family also had contacts with the Kansas Department for Children and Families. Police records cited by local news organizations show law enforcement responded to disturbances involving Williams at a DCF office, including an incident about two months before the deaths in which officers told him to leave. An earlier police entry said a social worker had reported aggressive behavior by Williams and George at the office and that officials were considering restricting their access. Details about the underlying child welfare case have not been publicly released because those records are generally confidential. No public record released by investigators has established that child welfare workers knew of a plan to harm the children.

Another police contact occurred after Williams’ mother sought a welfare check in April 2025. According to records later obtained by news organizations, Williams told an officer that he was cutting people out of his life. The meaning of that statement at the time is unclear, and authorities have not said it was evidence of the later alleged plan. In the days immediately before the deaths, a neighbor’s doorbell camera also recorded Williams yelling outside the home. The recording was made Aug. 7, four days before the 911 call. Investigators have described unusual behavior by the couple but have not publicly connected any single earlier encounter to the decision they believe Williams and George ultimately made.

The KBI’s conclusion about George also complicated the community’s first understanding of the deaths. Initial statements identified Williams as the suspect and George and the four children as victims. The Aug. 14 update said investigators now believed George shared responsibility for planning the children’s killings. DeLong later said the new information brought additional questions for police and the community. The KBI has not said whether evidence shows George personally fired a weapon, and the agency has not released a detailed reconstruction of the shootings. That distinction remains important because the public finding announced so far concerns shared culpability for planning, while the exact sequence inside the house has not been fully disclosed.

Amid those unanswered questions, residents gathered to remember the children. Hundreds attended a community vigil at Grace Point Assembly of God in Winfield days after the deaths. Flowers, stuffed animals and other memorial items also appeared near the family’s home. The public mourning focused heavily on Carol, Ronald Jr., Sarah and Kelly, whose ages ranged from 3 to 9. The gathering came as residents were still absorbing both the deaths and the KBI’s later determination that investigators believed the children’s parents had planned what happened rather than being caught in an unexpected confrontation that morning.

The KBI and Winfield Police Department have continued investigating the six deaths. The state agency said it found no evidence that anyone other than Williams and George was responsible and said no further threat to the public had been identified. Investigators have not released a motive, the contents of the evidence supporting their joint-planning determination or a final account of who fired each shot. The KBI said that when its investigation is finished, the findings will be submitted to the Cowley County attorney, leaving the final investigative record as the next confirmed step in a case that changed markedly within days of the first police response.

Author note: Last updated September 28, 2026.