Man sets neighbor’s house on fire, kills woman as she runs away, Missouri cops say

A dispute between Missouri neighbors came to a tragic end on Saturday.

Police say a Cedar Hill man set his neighbor’s house on fire then shot and killed her as she tried to run away, KTVI reported. The man then shot and killed himself.

Investigators believe the incident was sparked by a dispute over a property line, KSDK reported.

Bill Eberhardt, whose wife, was killed in the incident, said he never spoke with his neighbor about the issue even though the suspect “drove over his yard four times leaving ruts in the yard,” KTVI reported.

It began around 7 a.m. Saturday when police responded to a call that a car had crashed into a pick-up truck at a convenience store, the Jefferson County Leader reported. Police say the driver of the car realized the man in the pick-up was not his neighbor then drove off.

Not long after, gunshots were reported at an area home, KSDK reported. Police say that when they arrived, the home was already ablaze, a woman lying dead outside.

Across the street, police found a man’s body with self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the Jefferson County Leader reported.

“We believe he (the man found in the woods) was the neighbor of the woman in the burned home,” Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said, according to the newspaper. “There was an apparent ongoing dispute over something to do with property lines, and it apparently had been going on for some time.”

There had been no report of a dispute between the suspect and the Eberhardts until May 28 when a deputy responded to a complaint, KTVI reported. Deputies responded, again, on June 19 and “referred the victim to the civil court system.”

The victim is survived by her husband and son and a GoFundMe account has been set up on their behalf.

“Billy’s wife was murdered and his house burned down,” reads a post on the page. “This is devastating. He has lost everything. His wife is irreplaceable. Let’s all do what we can to help Billy and his son during this devastating time.”

This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Man sets neighbor’s house on fire, kills woman as she runs away, Missouri cops say."