For nearly 40 years, actor Patrick Duffy has carried the pain of losing his parents in a horrifying crime. The Dallas star was 37 when his parents, Terence and Marie Duffy, were shot and killed inside their family-owned tavern in Boulder, Montana, on November 18, 1986. During an emotional appearance on the Still Here Hollywood podcast on November 9, he revisited the night that changed his life forever.

The tragedy began when his father ordered two drunk and disruptive teenagers out of the bar. They later returned with shotguns. Duffy recalled that his parents were alone inside when the men walked in. His father reportedly stepped toward them and began saying, “I told you to…” before the attackers opened fire. His mother, who had been working on a crossword puzzle at the other end of the bar, rushed toward her husband and was shot too. Their bodies were discovered later by workers stopping at the tavern.

The two attackers, Sean A. Wentz and Kenneth A. Miller, were both 19. They were convicted of deliberate homicide after the murders. Wentz, who fired the fatal shots, received a 180-year sentence and was later released on parole in 2015. Miller was released on parole in 2007. The crime shocked the small community, where the Duffys were remembered as respectable, welcoming people who ran a quiet establishment.

Duffy has spoken about how his Buddhist faith helped him endure the loss. He had been practicing Buddhism for 15 years before the murders, and its teachings gave him a way to understand grief, life and death. His parents had proudly displayed photographs of their famous son in the tavern and never missed an episode of Dallas. Nearly four decades later, the memories remain painful, and Duffy’s emotional recollection shows just how deeply the tragedy affected him.