Son Indicted in Father’s Fatal Fall

Sept. 9, 2021 – A Collierville man has been indicted in the death of his father following an argument between the two that turned physical earlier this year, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A grand jury indicted Robert Brian Downs, 42, on a count of second-degree murder in the case. He is being held on a $30,000 bond.

     The incident occurred shortly before 6 p.m. on April 26 this year at their residence in the 1000 block of Brado Drive near H.W. Cox Park. Witnesses told Collierville Police that the father and son got into an argument that escalated into a fistfight.

    During the altercation, police said, Robert Downs pushed his 73-year-old father, Larry Downs, down a flight of stairs. The elder Downs struck his head, was knocked unconscious, and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

     Larry Downs died at the hospital about a week later on May 2.

    The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Theresa McCusker of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 1 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 7 and in Criminal Court Division 1.