Inset: Ryan Willis (Jackson County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The house in Kansas City, Mo., that Ryan Willis allegedly set on fire with his mom inside (KKTV).
A Missouri man was caught on his parents’ Ring camera setting their home on fire with his mother trapped inside — killing her, cops say.
Ryan Willis, 36, is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree arson for the death of his mom, Shirley Willis, at their home in Kansas City last week.
Firefighters and police responded to the residence just before 7 a.m. last Tuesday after receiving a call about a “reported arson,” according to a probable cause affidavit. Neighbors notified police and flagged down an off-duty firefighter after they “heard a woman screaming from inside,” the affidavit says.
“An off-duty firefighter was passing through the area when the neighbors observed the fire,” the affidavit says. “The off-duty firefighter attempted to enter the residence through the front but was unable to do so due to the fire.”
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Local firefighters arrived at the scene, entered the residence, and removed Shirley Willis from inside. Lifesaving measures were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead by paramedics.
Investigators spoke to Ryan Willis’ father, who told them he received a motion notification from his Ring doorbell camera system showing Ryan Willis “on the front porch setting objects on fire,” the affidavit says.
The dad told police that Ryan Willis was “not allowed inside the residence” and that the dad last spoke to Ryan Willis around 5:30 a.m. before leaving for work. When he left, Ryan Willis was on the front porch asking if he could go inside.
“[The father] told Ryan Willis he could not go inside but could remain on the front porch,” the affidavit says.
A neighbor told investigators he was awakened by a female “banging on his front door” and telling him the Willis home was on fire. When the neighbor exited his residence, he “felt the heat from the fire” and saw Shirley Willis “upstairs inside the residence yelling for help.”
The neighbor looked across the street and allegedly saw Ryan Willis standing on a porch. “Ryan Willis looked at [the neighbor] and said, ‘The house is on fire,'” the affidavit says. “[The neighbor] told Ryan Willis to help him rescue [Shirley Willis], but Ryan Willis did not move.”
The neighbor tried to save Shirley Willis but could not enter the home due to the fire’s size and intensity. Investigators found evidence at the home that included “photographs, a fire debris sample from the front porch, a liquid sample from the front porch, and a folding knife with a broken tip,” according to the affidavit.
Ryan Willis was taken into custody and interviewed about what happened. He allegedly admitted to intentionally setting the residence on fire and described how he “used one of his old books and a blue lighter” to set the home ablaze.
“Ryan Willis also stated he used a Kansas City flag in an attempt to cover the Ring doorbell camera because he was ashamed of starting the fire,” the affidavit says. “Ryan Willis denied knowing [Shirley Willis] was inside the residence when he started the fire, but admitted that her car was in the driveway.”
While he was being processed by jail officers, Ryan Willis allegedly told them that “he should have died in the fire.”
Ryan Willis is being held in Jackson County on a $250,000 bond. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for a bond review hearing and on Sept. 23 for a preliminary hearing.
The post Son burned his mother alive after setting parents’ home ablaze, calmly told neighbor ‘the house is on fire’ while mom was ‘screaming from inside’: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.
