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WEST JORDAN - Police are preparing to obtain a search warrant for
the car and residence of a 22-year-old man they say shot his
ex-girlfriend Tuesday and then turned the shotgun on himself.
Officers have not identified the victim but neighbors say it is
Jamie Vance.
Just after 9 a.m., the victim's mother, who neighbors say is Nancy
Vance, called police from her work and told them her daughter's
ex-boyfriend was in their house.
The woman alerted police after her daughter's friend called and
said she was talking to 21-year-old Jamie Vance - who said she had
lost her car keys - when Jamie began screaming and the line went dead.
About the same time, the mother and the police arrived at her
house at 8780 S. 1412 West and found the bodies of Jamie and her
ex-boyfriend in the basement at the bottom of a staircase, said Lt.
Dan Gallagher.
The pair died from shotgun wounds, he said.
The mother and her daughter's friend, who also showed up at the
house, were immediately taken to the West Jordan Police Department,
Gallagher said.
"I think [the mother] is in shock. I think both her and the
[murder victim's] girlfriend are having a really hard time,"
Gallagher said.
Kay Dahn, who lives at 8780 S. 1465 West, said she was the second
person to go by the house after the police arrived.
"When I came up I just saw the tape and all of these officers are
there. I did hear hysterical crying and thought it might be the
mother and realized it was the friend," Dahn said.
Police have not yet released the name of the ex-boyfriend, who
neighbors say may have dated Jamie since she was in the eighth grade.
The couple had recently split, Gallagher said, and young woman had
taken the remainder of her ex-boyfriend's belongings to him Monday
night in what was supposed to be the end of a long, drawn-out break
up.
"He definitely got the message she thought the relationship was
over," Gallagher said.
Neighbors say Jamie may also have gone on a date with another man
that night.
About 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, however, the man showed up at the
victim's home. At first, he told the mother he was there for her and
her daughter's protection, Gallagher said. Then he told her that his
car, a green Honda Accord parked around the corner, had broken down
and asked to use the phone.
The mother let him in. Afterwards, the man asked if he could wait
at the house for about an hour while he waited for a friend to pick
him up, Gallagher said. The mother told him no and the man left.
A couple of hours later, the mother saw the man's car still parked
outside, but did not see him, Gallagher said.
Neighbors say the Vances have lived in the same house for at least
18 years. Jamie, who they believe was in beauty school, formerly
attended West Jordan High School.
"She was just a typical, energetic young girl," Dahn said. "It has
been many years since I've had anything to do with her."
Dahn said everyone on the street was shocked to learn of the
murder-suicide Tuesday.
"Of course we are very stunned and upset and could not believe
that had happened while we were innocently going about our lives,"
she said.