Families of Lenexa double murder and suicide victims are suing GPS tracking device makers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Kansas City-area families bonded by tragedy are now suing a tracking device manufacturer.

The lawsuit against Spytech GPS comes after their children, 22-year-old Sara Beck and 20-year-old Mikey Williamson, were victims of a double murder and suicide in Lenexa in 2022.

VOICE FOR ALL | Share your voice with Cameron Taylor from KSHB 41

“I don't want me to spend the rest of my life thinking that the only reason me and her know each other is because our children were killed,” said Desmond Theel, Sara Beck's father.

Lenexa police said Sara's ex-boyfriend shot Sara and Mikey before taking his own life.

Police also said the ex-boyfriend tracked Sara with a GPS device, which led him to Mikey's house.

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Photos provided by the family

It's a story the KSHB 41 I-Team has been following for two years.

“It’s just still unbelievable that it happened and how it happened,” Melanie Williamson, Mikey Williamson’s mother.

For the first time, the two families sat down with the I-Team to talk about the change they hope to bring with their lawsuit.

“I want to know that after this incident, we did something about it,” Theel said.

The two parents bonded after meeting at their children's funerals. This bond has helped them begin the path of healing and finding responsibility.

“We are here to shed light on the matter,” said Theel.

Chase Lucas/KSHB

Mikey Williamson's mother Melanie Williamson (left) and Sara Beck's father Desmond Theel.

“Something good should come out of this,” Williamson added.

“So her death is not completely in vain,” Theel said.

The two families claim the tracking device company sold the tracking device to Sara's ex-boyfriend.

“What is the message you all want to send with this lawsuit?” Cameron Taylor of the KSHB 41 I-Team asked.

“We will not tolerate this. We need laws that keep pace with technology,” Theel said.

“People need to understand how dangerous it is,” Williamson added.

In the 24-page wrongful death lawsuit, the families accuse the company of designing and manufacturing a device and app “that were negligently, recklessly and intentionally designed for the purpose of secretly tracking down unsuspecting individuals.”

LINK | Read the lawsuit

“The desired outcome is for these families to receive justice. The desired result is that something changes,” said Nick Brand, the lawyer for the two families.

Chase Lucas/KSHB

Nick Brand, the lawyer representing the two families

In response, the company denied the allegations, adding that “the ex-boyfriend's use of the product in question constituted misuse of the product in a manner that was not reasonably foreseeable.”

LINK | Read the tracking device manufacturer's response to the lawsuit

“I don’t want the average person to be able to have them. Companies can have them, that's fine. I don’t want the common man to have them,” Theel said.

This is the kind of change Desmond and Melanie hope to bring about with their lawsuit.

They've seen some successes along the way, like Kansas tightening its stalking laws after the I-Team's reporting. They think it could go even further.

Desmond and Melanie are still waiting for Missouri to make a change.

“I'm not going to tell you we're going to change the world, but I'm going to try. And if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll try,” Theel said.

In Missouri, a lawmaker has introduced a bill that would prohibit someone from installing a tracking device on another person's car without the owner's consent.

For the second year in a row, no progress was made.

The I-Team also contacted attorneys for the tracking device manufacturer, but they did not respond to a request for comment.