Denver officials evict murdered woman's family 72 hours after her slaying

Published time: August 20, 2013 19:45

Three days after a Denver woman was brutally murdered, the city’s housing authority evicted her family because the slain woman was the only one on the lease.

Just days after losing a loved one, the victim’s mother and autistic son are now homeless, sleeping wherever they can after they were booted from their own house.

The eviction occurred after 47-year-old Sandra Roskilly was murdered on the front porch of her home. Daniel Abeyta, the 31-year-old gunman who was armed with a rifle, shot the Denver woman to deathon Friday. He also shot a second woman in the leg and tried to detonate a propane canister in the street. A police sniper shot and wounded the gunman, who now faces a first-degree murder charge, KUSA-TV reported.

Police believe Roskilly was an innocent bystander when Abyeta, who lived in a neighboring home, went on a shooting rampage. The murder has devastated the woman’s family.

“We haven’t processed that Sandy’s gone yet,” the victim’s sister-in-law, Letta Campbell, told KWGN. But the family wasn’t even allowed to mourn before receiving the eviction notice from the Denver Housing Authorityon Monday. Roskilly died without a will, which legally transfers all of her personal belongings to a public administrator.

Since the shooting victim was the only one on the lease, Roskilly’s family members were forced to vacate the house less than six hours after receiving the notice. Doris Kessler, the 70-year-old mother of the victim, as well as Roskilly’s 18-year-old autistic son, were forced to leave the house on Monday. After kicking them out, Housing Authority officials changed the locks.

Roskilly’s son, who relatives say suffers from a severe case of autism, is currently being housed in a facility in Pueblo, which is nearly two hours south of Denver. Kessler is now sleeping on a couch at the home of one of her other children.

FULL STORY: http://rt.com/usa/denver-family-evicted-roskilly-752/