Missouri Man Charged With Murder After Setting Family Home Ablaze, Killing His Mother

Ryan Willis, 36, of Kansas City is charged with second-degree murder and arson after his mother died in a fire he allegedly set. A Ring camera captured him on the porch igniting the blaze.

Kansas City Man Accused of Burning Mother Alive, Caught on Ring Camera

A 36-year-old Kansas City man is facing second-degree murder and first-degree arson charges after his mother died in a fire he allegedly set at his parents' home last week, Law & Crime reports. Ryan Willis's father's Ring doorbell camera recorded him on the front porch igniting objects, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Firefighters and police were dispatched to the residence shortly before 7 a.m. last Tuesday following a call about a reported arson. Neighbors had already alerted an off-duty firefighter after hearing a woman screaming from inside the home. The off-duty firefighter attempted to enter through the front door but was driven back by the flames.

When local firefighters arrived, they entered the home and removed Shirley Willis. Paramedics were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ryan Willis's father told investigators he had received a motion alert from his Ring camera showing his son on the front porch setting objects on fire. The father said Ryan Willis was not permitted inside the house. Before leaving for work around 5:30 a.m., the father had spoken to his son, who asked to be let in. The father told him he could stay on the porch but could not enter.

A neighbor told police he was woken by a woman banging on his front door, warning him that the Willis home was on fire. When the neighbor stepped outside, he felt the heat from the blaze and saw Shirley Willis upstairs inside the residence, yelling for help. Looking across the street, he spotted Ryan Willis standing calmly on a porch.

"Ryan Willis looked at [the neighbor] and said, 'The house is on fire,'" the affidavit states. The neighbor urged him to help rescue Shirley Willis, but Ryan Willis did not move. The neighbor attempted to enter the home himself but was unable to do so because of the size and intensity of the fire.

Investigators recovered several items from the scene, including photographs, a fire debris sample from the front porch, a liquid sample from the front porch, and a folding knife with a broken tip.

During a post-arrest interview, Ryan Willis allegedly admitted to intentionally setting the fire. He described using one of his old books and a blue lighter to ignite the home. He also told investigators he had tried to drape a Kansas City flag over the Ring doorbell camera because, according to the affidavit, "he was ashamed of starting the fire."

Willis denied knowing his mother was inside when he lit the blaze, but acknowledged that her car was parked in the driveway at the time. While being processed by jail officers, he allegedly stated that "he should have died in the fire."

Willis is currently held in Jackson County Jail on a $250,000 bond. A bond review hearing is scheduled for Thursday, with a preliminary hearing set for September 23.

Source: Law & Crime