'He Just Took Over The House': Sheridan Homeowner Didn’t Know…

The Sheridan homeowner whose house became the scene of a 32-hour fatal standoff this week with a suspected cop killer did not know the man who "took over" her house, the homeowner's daughter said.

“We have no idea who this man is,” said Brookelynn Hamilton, daughter of Sheridan homeowner Karo Hamilton, in a Thursday phone call with Cowboy State Daily. “We’ve never met him. He just took over the house.”

William Lowery, 46, reportedly shot and killed Sheridan Police Sgt. Nevada Krinkee on Tuesday morning while the sergeant was trying to serve a trespass notice at a rental home from which Lowery had been evicted.

Lowery fled the scene and ran to Karo Hamilton’s home. He knew the man renting Karo’s basement, but neither Karo nor her mother knew him, Brookelynn said.

“When (Lowery) showed up, (the tenant) noticed he was agitated, but didn’t think anything of it,” she said.

Then police showed up.

Brookelynn said police met the basement tenant while he was outside smoking and told him to leave.

Brookelynn said her grandmother – Karo’s mother – was in the house for a “few hours” Tuesday afternoon while the suspect was still in the basement.

“The police finally, after a few hours, went and got her out, to an ambulance to get checked out,” said Brookelynn. “She thankfully didn’t know what was going on because the guy stayed in the basement during that time.”

The grandmother also has been “sick,” Brookelynn said, adding that she has lacked full awareness of the situation. Brookelynn said that’s been fortunate.

Karo has lived in the house for about 11 years, and has taken care of her mother there for much of that time, said her daughter.

‘Devastating’

Karo, meanwhile, was out in town getting her car serviced when the standoff started, Brookelynn said.

When she found out what was happening, police asked her not to come home. But Karo was able to get her mother to another home after medical personnel checked the woman’s health.

Karo and her mother have been staying at Karo’s boyfriend’s house in Sheridan throughout the ordeal, Brookelynn said.

“She’s doing her best to hold together,” said Brookelynn. “She’s really strong.”

Karo saw pictures of her tattered house Wednesday, but it didn’t prepare her to behold it in person as she did for the first time Thursday.

Brookelyn said it was “pretty devastating” for her.

Police lobbed and shot gas projectiles into the house trying to get Lowery to surrender. They sprayed a pressure hose into it Wednesday morning and tore open a wall Wednesday evening just before Lowery – who had reportedly been shooting from the house – tried to escape.

Police shot Lowery when the latter tried to escape while armed, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation reported.

DCI did not identify Lowery by name: he was identified in an early police bulletin after Krinkee’s death, and by statements police made via megaphone at the standoff scene.

One Cat Still Missing

As of Thursday morning, police were not allowing Karo into the house, said Brookelyn, though they’ve been hoping to go in and search for Karo’s missing cat, Cersei.

A Sheridan utilities maintenance worker found one of Karo’s two dogs – a larger dog named Mia – whimpering on a pile of debris in the house’s flooded basement Wednesday evening.

The worker, Tyler Gay, pulled Mia from the basement and got her into an officer’s heated vehicle.

“When we got her last night she was soaking wet and terrified,” Brookelynn said. “She’s still really stressed out but she’s doing better.”

A cousin of the family was listening to the police scanner Wednesday evening and heard about Mia’s rescue, so the cousin grabbed Mia near the scene and brought her to Karo.

Willie was found in the rubble at around midday Thursday, Brookelynn added.

Cersei, a 10-year-old grey long-haired cat, is still missing. Brookelynn said she’s sweet but also shy, and she may not come to people who call her.

“We’re just hoping she’s found somewhere warm,” said Brookelynn, adding that the pets are like family to her and to Karo, whose house she visited daily for coffee prior to the standoff.

A thick snow fell on Sheridan all morning Thursday and lightened to a steady dusting in the afternoon.

Going Forward …

The family now faces both uncertainty and an outpouring of kindness.

Brookelynn expressed doubts about the prospect of an insurance payout, saying she heard her mother’s home insurance policy would cover “civil unrest, (but) not what happened.”

Karo Hamilton told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday she was not yet ready to give an interview.

The people of Sheridan are banding together, and some construction businesses have offered to help Karo and her mother by donating time, labor and materials.

“Sheridan is really reaching out and helping a lot,” said Brookelyn.