Woman Killed by Same Man Who Killed Mother 20-Years Earlier

In 1996, Travis Lewis murdered her mother and cousin. She forgave him, forming a close bond during his incarceration. After his 2018 parole, she gave him a job and place to stay. Then, in 2020, he murdered her, too.

Police responding to reports of a fire at the Snowden House, the home of a prominent Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas family, found the partially burned bodies of Sally Snowden McKay and her cousin, prominent Memphis blues guitarist Lee Baker, inside the home. Both people had been shot to death. Police later learned that someone also broke into Lee’s home on that tragic day, June 10, 1996.

Sally Snowden McKay Murder

Police began investigating the robbery as well as the murders and fire at the Snowden home. Their investigation led them to the home of 16-year-old Travis Lewis, who lived on one of the properties on the estate. Travis and Lee’s two sons were good friends. He denied knowing anything about the murders and even passed a polygraph test.

When police learned that Lewis was suspended from school on the day of the murders, they asked him to come in for a second polygraph test, which he failed. After questioning Lewis for some time, he admitted to the burglary at Lee’s home, but claimed a friend with him at the time actually killed Sally and Lee.

Police found Sally’s car crashed down the road from her house. Lewis’s DNA was found on a hair inside the car. Police also recovered his fingerprints from the driver’s side door. Travis was charged with two counts of murder and a series of other felony charges.

Police suspect Sally and Lee walked in on Travis as he was committing a robbery at her home. He shot them, then set the house on fire in an attempt to cover up the evidence. Unfortunately for Lewis, alert neighbors noticed flames coming from the home and dialed 9-1-1 almost immediately after the blaze began.

Lewis was charged as an adult which made him eligible for the death penalty. To avoid execution, Lewis accepted a plea deal from prosecutors sentencing him to 28 ½ years behind bars with parole eligibility after serving 70% of his sentence.

After Lewis's parole, he immediately moved to the Snowden Home with Martha McKay, the daughter of the woman he murdered in 1996.

Described as a generous person with a big heart, McKay forgave Lewis for killing her mother and cousin. She visited him several times during his 20-year incarceration. When Lewis made parole, McKay offered to help him get back on his feet.

Lewis Moves Into The Snowden Home

McKay purchased the Snowden home her mother owned and restored the property. She turned the place into a lavish bed and breakfast. She offered Lewis a room in the B&B as well as a job keeping up the grounds. He gladly accepted the offer.

It was short-lived happiness for Lewis and McKay, who always believed in the power of forgiveness.

McKay sold a chandelier for $10,000 and casually stashed the cash in her home. The money come up missing and Lewis was the only person in the home at the time. She immediately fired him from his job and kicked him out of the B&B.

Lewis Kills Martha; Himself

Lewis broke into the home and stabbed and bludgeoned Martha to death. She notified police by pressing an electronic alert connected to the alarm in her home. Police responding to the alarm found her body at the top of the staircase in the Snowden home.

Lewis fled the home and jumped into the nearby Horseshoe Lake. He drowned before police could initiate a rescue. Officers did not know at the time that the man in the lake was Travis Lewis, the same man who killed Martha McKay’s mother all those years earlier.

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