On July 6, 2017, 56-year-old Wanda Jo Moon was found dead from a gunshot wound in a Buffalo, Missouri motel room where she and her husband, Glen A. Jackson, had checked in to swim and get away from home stress. Moon, a Native American woman known as Momma Moon or Wonder to friends, had been described as a free spirit who loved motorcycles, nature, and the ocean. She was a mother and grandmother who had been born in Ventura, California and later lived in Missouri.

Police say Jackson was the only other person in the room. He initially told investigators he blacked out and later woke to find his wife dead, then admitted the .44 caliber black powder revolver in the room belonged to him. During questioning he acknowledged having had past thoughts of killing his wife, though he said they had not been fighting that day, and he waited about three hours after the shooting before notifying an acquaintance who then contacted emergency services. Jackson was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.