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CEDAR HILL, Mo (KMOV) — William Eberhardt sits beside the smoldering ruins of what used to be his home, contemplating what could have been different
He says Saturday morning, his neighbor who had been harassing him for the past year and a half destroyed his house and killed his wife.
He believes the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office could have done more to settle the argument before his 49-year-old wife Kelly was killed.
The neighbor reportedly set fire to the home to draw Kelly outside, then killed her.
“[He] runs around the house, bashes the barn, a truck, then runs a truck into the side of the house,” Eberhardt said. “Gets out, pours liquid on it, starts it on fire. [He] knew where the front door was. He came right over here and waited for her to come out the front door and he shot her five times.”
The man then disappeared into the woods, prompting a two-hour search.
Eventually his body was found and it’s believed he shot himself.
Kelly Eberhardt had survived cancer ten years ago. She enjoyed fishing and hunting with her husband.
The two started dating when they were 15 years old.
Eberhardt says his neighbor had previously driven his truck into his yard leaving deep ruts, and sprayed weed killer on his lawn.
He says he filed four reports with law enforcement over the past year and a half and had met with a deputy last week.
“This is our cry for help. This is the fourth time we’ve called for help and you ain’t done nothing with the guy,” he said. “They didn’t do nothing.”
The sheriff’s office released a statement saying:
“Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the victim in this senseless crime.
While the victim and her husband were in an on-going dispute with the suspect, it was a civil matter and not criminal.
A records search going back four years showed no reports of problems between the parties until May 28th of this year. A Deputy responded to that case and took a report, even though he was not obligated to do so and was not asked to do so by the victim. The same action was taken on June 19th when Deputies responded twice that day to similar, civil complaints and referred the victim to the civil court system.
The suspect was not known to our department prior to these incidents.
“People are saying he was a good guy. [They] don’t know what happened,” Eberhardt said. “Hey listen, I don’t care what you think, no good guy whatsoever could do what he done here.”
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