Man charged with murdering his landlord over $30 rent increase

[Kyle J.]

Hard to believe what some people will do over a little money.....

Link to story:  Cudahy man allegedly shoots and kills landlord over $30 rent increase

A $30 rent increase was allegedly the motivation for a man killing his landlord.

Jason Tilley, 37, is facing charges of first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm as a felon after he allegedly shot his landlord in the head allegedly over a $30 rent increase.

According to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday, March 7, Tilley met with his landlord March 1. The landlord’s wife reported to Greenfield Police her husband had left to meet with a tenant at a complex he owned in Cudahy, but never returned.

The landlord’s body was found March 2 in the garage at the complex, 6140 S. Packard Ave., wrapped in a blanket. An autopsy showed the man died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the complaint.

The landlord’s daughter reported to police she saw her father’s car in the parking lot of Monterrey Express, 3101 S. 13th St. The complaint states surveillance footage showed a man parking, exiting, and then catching a bus. A police officer identified him as Tilley.

When questioned by police, Tilley said he paid the landlord $560 in cash for rent and was told the rent was being increased by $30, which he said upset him. Tilley initially said he didn’t have an altercation with the landlord, but when asked if he shot him, he said “yep," according to the complaint.

In the complaint, Tilley said he had a handgun in his hoodie picket and while they were talking in the garage the landlord turned away from him and he shot him in the back of the head.

Following the shooting, Tilley said he took money out of the landlord’s pocket and his car keys. He later admitted to abandoning the car around 13th Street and Oklahoma Avenue, the complaint said. The man said he went to Walmart and bought new clothes, leaving his old ones there.

Tilley also said in the complaint he left to give a urine sample due to being on federal probation and then went to have some beers and shots before going home and getting up for work the next day, where he was arrested.

Blood was also reportedly seen on the door and door frame to Tilley’s apartment, according to the complaint.

Tilley’s initial court appearance was at 8:30 a.m., March 7.