Husband Arrested After Wife Was Found on Fire

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
April 23, 2019US News
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Husband Arrested After Wife Was Found on Fire
Andrew McKissick was arrested on April 22, 2019, on the same day that his wife was found burned to death. (O'Fallon Police Department)

The husband of a woman who was found on fire was arrested on April 23, a day after police officials said that they were looking for him.

Andrew Montez McKissick was taken into custody after the death of his wife Sherry Billups, 35.

Police officials in O’Fallon, Illinois, were seeking McKissick to question him about his wife’s death, naming him as a person of interest. Billups was found burned to death on Monday morning in her vehicle near the O’Fallon Family Sports Park.

McKissick was arrested around 11 p.m. on Monday in Memphis, Tennessee.

husband of woman burned to death arrested
Sherry Billups was found burned to death in O’Fallon, Ill., on April 22, 2019. (O’Fallon Police Department)

He was being held on unrelated charges with extradition to Illinois pending; jail records stated he was being held at the Shelby County Jail on suspicion of being a “fugitive from justice without warrant,” reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Officials said on Monday that McKissick was considered armed and dangerous.

The couple’s house was raided earlier on Monday after Billups died but McKissick wasn’t there.

Relatives told Fox 2 that Billups leaves behind two teenage children and that she worked for the United States Postal Service.

“I never thought this would be her because she didn’t live that kind of life,” cousin Toya Bobo said. “She was a good person. Every time I was with her we had awesome times. I can’t think of any bad memories. She stayed to herself. She loved her kids.”

Family members said that McKissick and Billups were married for a few months.

“We were wondering where he came from; where this man came from. It’s going to be a hard pill to swallow. My little sister is gone. That was my best friend, my A-1,” said Meisha Billups, Sherry’s sister.

McKissick was on parole after being convicted of assault on a police officer, reported KMOV. Police officials said that officers had been to the couple’s house several times for domestic disturbance calls in the past.

Anyone with information was asked to contact detectives at 618-624-9589.

HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONAt about 7:23 a.m. on Monday, April 22nd, the O’Fallon, Illinois Police Department received…

Posted by O'Fallon Police Department on Monday, April 22, 2019

Crime Statistics

Crime declined in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2017, the FBI said in February. Preliminary statistics show nearly all offenses in the violent crime category declined. Robbery offenses decreased 12.5 percent, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses decreased 6.7 percent, and aggravated assault offenses declined 2 percent, the agency said. Rapes, however, increased by 0.6 percent.

When comparing data from the first six months of 2018 with the first six months of 2017, all property crime categories showed a decrease. Burglaries were down 12.7 percent, larceny-thefts decreased 6.3 percent, and motor vehicle thefts declined 3.3 percent. The full 2018 crime report will be released later this year.

The FBI previously said that both violent crime and property crime decreased in 2017, the last year that full statistics are available for, compared to 2016. Overall violent crime decreased 0.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, while property crime decreased 3 percent during that time, the agency said in September 2018, releasing data from the previous year.

“There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes reported to UCR nationwide in 2017. There was a 0.7 percent decrease in murders and a 4 percent decrease in robberies from 2016 to 2017. Aggravated assaults increased by 1 percent in 2017. The FBI began collecting data solely on an updated rape definition last year, and 135,755 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2017,” the FBI stated.

“The report also showed there were more than 7.7 million property crimes last year. Burglaries decreased 7.6 percent and larceny-thefts decreased by 2.2 percent. Motor vehicle thefts increased by 0.8 percent from 2016 to 2017.”

The figures were compiled from more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies around the United States that submitted their crime data to the FBI.

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