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Controversy over West Valley City's police scandal took a turn for the personal earlier this month as the mother of Danielle Willard received a profanity-laced Facebook message.

The sender was listed as Lindsay Jarvis, the attorney representing Shaun Cowley, the then-narcotics detective who shot and killed Willard.

"It's honestly no wonder your daughter turned to heroin, had sex with the dealer, had marijuana and heroin in her system at the time of her death," the message to Melissa Kennedy said.

It went on to call Kennedy a "hateful bitch" and Willard "a junkie."

Kennedy said she received the message June 11, a week after West Valley City reinstated Cowley with more than $100,000 back pay for the two years since he was fired on allegations he mishandled evidence in drug cases.

On Monday, at a meeting of the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, Jarvis declined to discuss the message or verify if she had sent it, citing a complaint Kennedy has since filed against Jarvis with the Utah State Bar.

"I feel very bad for Melissa Kennedy," Jarvis said. "I will answer to the Utah Bar, for sure."

Kennedy, who lives in Vancouver, Wash., posted images of Jarvis' purported message online. Kennedy said the same day she received the message, she got a call from the attorney who represented her in a civil lawsuit, relaying that Jarvis had called him and asked him to extend her apologies to Kennedy.

"How do you tie that back, after what she wrote?" Kennedy said. "If you were a person who lost your child that way, how do you accept an apology for that?

Sean Toomey, spokesman for the Utah State Bar, said the organization's rules prevent disclosure of complaints or pending investigations.

The Utah Supreme Court's Standards of Professionalism and Civility require lawyers to "advance the legitimate interests of their clients, without reflecting any ill will that clients may have for their adversaries," and to "avoid hostile, demeaning or humiliating words in written and oral communications with adversaries."

Kennedy said the message came "out of the blue," and that she and Jarvis had communicated privately only once before, about a year ago.

On a Facebook group Kennedy administers, a police critic made disparaging statement's about Jarvis' then-unborn baby while Jarvis was pregnant.

Kennedy said Jarvis threatened to sue her, and she told the commenter to keep families out of the controversy.

"Then she tries to say this about me and about my family," Kennedy said.

The message read: "Hello, [Willard] was a junkie. She needed a fix. She was desperate. She tried to kill an officer. You're so blinded by your hate, and probably your regret, as you've flown to Utah more times since she died than you did when she was alive, that you refuse to see the truth. Why don't you take your million and shut up? At the end of the day, you got paid by a corrupt city, your daughter's [bullsh—] case was thrown out of court, and Shaun was reinstated with full benefits."

The message also claims that death threats have been made by members of Kennedy's Facebook groups, Injustice Utah and Justice for Danielle Willard.

Cowley and his partner, Kevin Salmon, were in plainclothes when they approached the 21-year-old Willard while she sat in her car outside an apartment complex Nov. 2, 2012. The detectives said they thought they had seen her buying drugs.

Cowley said that when Willard backed out of the parking space, he thought she was trying to run over him. He fired the shot that struck Willard in the head, while one of Salmon's shots grazed Willard's chin.

Both detectives were placed on leave immediately after the shooting. Cowley was fired in September 2013, though not for the shooting.

West Valley City said it found drug evidence in the trunk of Cowley's car that should have been submitted to the police department and that he mishandled evidence in other drug cases.

The Salt Lake County district attorney charged Cowley with second-degree felony manslaughter in Willard's death. A judge dismissed that count during an October preliminary hearing.

In February, West Valley City settled a wrongful-death lawsuit with Kennedy for $1.4 million.

Cowley resigned from the department after he was reinstated earlier this month.

Salmon remained on paid leave for almost two years before resigning in October.

ealberty@sltrib.com Twitter: @erinalberty

Reporter Nate Carlisle contributed to this story.