Man pleads not guilty to killing worker over yard notice

UPDATE: A Utah man accused of killing a city worker and setting her body on fire after she mailed him notice to clean up his yard has pleaded not guilty to murder and arson charges.

An attorney for 64-year-old Kevin W. Billings entered the pleas during a court hearing Friday in Salt Lake City. Billings appeared via video from jail but didn’t speak. He was in a wheelchair and sported a long, gray beard.

Public defender Nick Falcone told the judge that Billings would be pleading not guilty to all charges.

Police say Billings killed code enforcement officer Jill Robinson on Aug. 9 in West Valley City and said she “got what she deserved” after “years of harassment.”

Billings is charged with 13 counts, including aggravated murder, which carries the possibility of the death penalty.

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ORIGINAL: Prosecutors say a Utah man called a city worker to his house, then shot her in the head and set her body on fire after she mailed him notice to clean up his yard.

Court documents filed Tuesday say 64-year-old Kevin W. Billings killed West Valley City code-enforcement officer Jill Robinson with a single gunshot to the head, then doused her and the truck with gasoline and set both on fire.

Police say Billings claimed she “got what she deserved” after “years of harassment.”

Prosecutors say he then cut a hole in his fence and burned the neighbors’ house down, apparently believing they had reported his yard.

Billings was charged with 13 counts, including an aggravated murder charge that carries the possibility of the death penalty. No attorney was immediately listed for him in court records.