Janet Louise Billings, a 29-year-old Caucasian female, was fatally shot on Sunday, December 7, 2014, in a Lowe's parking lot in Kansas City, Kansas. Her life was tragically cut short in an act of violence that occurred in a public place with other customers present. Billings, a resident of Bonner Springs, was remembered by her sister as the youngest of three children with a positive, upbeat attitude and an "out-of-this-world laugh."
She was said to have a beautiful singing voice and the ability to light up any room she entered.
The man responsible for her death, George Daniel Lingenfelser, 28, of Bonner Springs, turned himself in to the police later on the day of the shooting. He and Billings were in a relationship and lived together. Wyandotte County prosecutors initially charged Lingenfelser with first-degree murder. His bond was set at $750,000. The case proceeded to trial, where the tragic details of the shooting were presented.
In January 2016, a Wyandotte County District Court jury found George Lingenfelser guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Janet Billings. The jury deliberated for about 11 hours before reaching the verdict for the lesser charge. In March 2016, Lingenfelser, then 29, was sentenced to 15 years and six months in prison for the murder of his girlfriend.
