The home of Ryan Luke and Stephanie Sheen. Police say Kevin Billings tried to burn this home down.
WEST VALLEY – The man accused of shooting a West Valley City Code Enforcement officer reportedly told police that his victim “got what she deserved.” Meanwhile, his neighbors are talking about why they believe he set their house on fire.
Officers responding to the shooting say they found a rifle, a propane torch and gas containers between the homes of the suspect, Kevin Billings and his neighbors, Ryan Luke and Stephanie Sheen.
Billings reportedly shot and killed Jill Robinson when she arrived to check on his home on Wendy Avenue. A report from the Salt Lake County Jail says he had frequent visits from the West Valley City Code Enforcement department.
After Billings allegedly killed Robinson, he reportedly told the arresting officers, “After 40 years of harassment, the (woman) got what she deserved.”
Neighbor Ryan Luke says “the woman” seemed incredibly friendly and passionate about her job. Luke adds that she asked if he could help her get a better look at Billings’ property.
“She asked me, ‘Can I see it from your back yard,’ and I said, ‘Sure. I don’t mind helping out the city,’” Luke says.
He wanted to stay anonymous, but he says city workers didn’t protect him well enough.
“I told them, ‘I don’t want any of this to be able to be pointed at me,’ and, somehow, he knew. The city had given him details that only we would know,” he adds.
Luke and his wife, Stephanie Sheen, say there was a lot of junk on Billings’ property. They claim there were a lot of insects, stray cats and useless items, like an insert to a hot tub. Despite that, they insist they never made any calls to the city to complain.
Sheen says she never imagined Billings would be suspected of killing someone, or setting their house on fire. The house is a total loss, and Sheen lost five dogs and one cat in the blaze.
“I feel terrible for the family who lost a family member, but, I lost my family, too. I know that’s hard for people to understand, but, that’s how I feel about them. They were my babies,” Sheen says, adding, “They were so special, every single one of them.”
