Man Shot City Worker In Head, Burned Body Over Yard Cleanup
- Code Enforcement Officer Safety Foundation
- Aug 21, 2018
- 2 min read
2018 - A Utah man called a city worker to his house, shot her in the head and set her body on fire after she mailed him notice to clean up his yard in suburban Salt Lake City.
August 21, 2018 - Kevin W. Billings, 64, killed code enforcement officer Jill Robinson with a single gunshot to the head, then doused her and her work truck with gasoline and set both on fire, authorities said in court documents.
Billings was charged with 13 counts, including aggravated murder, which carries the possibility of the death penalty, arson and desecration of a human body. No attorney was immediately listed for him in court records.
Billings claimed Robinson, 52, "got what she deserved" after "years of harassment," police said. A neighbor saw him leaning on his walker in his driveway with a "smirk" after the shooting, the charges say.
He also "meticulously" cut a large hole in a fence and burned his neighbors' house down, apparently believing they had reported his yard to officials in West Valley City, the charges say.
He had been clearing thick vegetation from around the fence for days before setting the fire, prosecutors said. It killed five dogs and a cat, but his neighbors were not hurt. Billings also was charged with animal cruelty.
The violence started after Billings made an appointment for Robinson to come to his house the morning of Aug. 9, about two weeks after Robinson first mailed him a notice that his messy yard and unregistered vehicles violated city rules. If he didn't clean it up, the notice said the city could levy a $50-a-day fine.
The appointment would have been a routine follow-up inspection for the unarmed, civilian worker who had worked for the city for 10 years. Court records show Billings had faced weed-control and waste-accumulation charges decades ago, before Robinson started working for the city.
Police also found illegal blasting caps and a detonation cord at his house, prosecutors said.
Buhler added that Robinson was a tremendous softball enthusiast.
Wednesday evening, all code enforcement officers were taken off their jobs and coworkers are remembering Robinson—who was both a mother and grandmother.
"She was always very friendly, always quick to smile and wave at you," West Valley City spokesman Sam Johnson said. "She was a terrific person."
A friend of the couple that lived at the home that burned says the occupants rescue animals, and had six dogs and two cats inside during the fire. All eight died.
"I think she's just in shock,"Dr. Pam Nichols said. "She lost her first dog of her entire life just a few weeks ago, and she's been a veterinarian for a long time. She had a soft spot for little old Dachshunds. It's just so sad."
Code-enforcement officers do not work for the police department but rather the city. However, West Valley City Police are not handling the investigation.
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