Woman, 31, Held in Strangling of Lover, 60
A domestic dispute in Lawndale ended in violence early Monday when a 31-year-old woman allegedly strangled her 60-year-old live-in lover and then called police to report his death.
Shawn May was booked on murder charges and was being held without out bail following the 8:50 a.m. incident, Sheriff’s Sgt. Dirk Edmundson said.
Deputies found Walter Billingsley dead in the bedroom of the couple’s rented house in the 14800 block of Larch Avenue, Edmundson said. The landlord, Tom Dill, who lives behind the couple’s home, said a frantic May came to his door before police arrived, and told him about Billingsley’s death. He said he told her to call 911.
Dill described Billingsley as “a very nice guy . . . (who) would give you the shirt off his back, his last dollar, everything.” Billingsley had been trying to break off his relationship with May, Dill said, but did not know how to do it without hurting her.
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