Inset: Willie Rollins (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office). Background: The neighborhood where Willie Rollins lived with his slain lover, who was allegedly gunned down by him in their home (WFRV/YouTube).
A Wisconsin man walked into a police station last week holding a handgun, placed it in a metal security tray, and then told an officer at the front desk, "I just killed my boyfriend and he's in the basement," according to cops. The 32-year-old had, in fact, gunned down his boyfriend following a fight over paying their internet bill, police say.
Willie Rollins, a resident of Oshkosh, allegedly shot his boyfriend in the head and then walked into the lobby of the Oshkosh Police Department to confess last Monday. He described what led up to the shooting and why he took his longtime lover's life, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
"Rollins appeared very calm and cooperative," the complaint says. "Rollins stated that he thought he was being human trafficked and financially abused. He stated it felt like he was in danger of being kicked out of his home."
Detectives asked Rollins to walk through what happened, with him claiming that he was "mentally abused" and that his boyfriend, who has not been identified by police, had started becoming "physically abusive, so he got armed and got a license to carry," the complaint states. He and the victim had dated for about 10 years and were in an on-and-off relationship after breaking up roughly a year ago, his boyfriend's mother told police.
The pair continued to live together and Rollins admitted to using drugs, including methamphetamine, while they were dating. The victim's mother said Rollins allegedly threatened to kill her son "numerous" times and that they both had conversations with her about it, per the complaint.
"The last death threat made by Rollins to [the boyfriend] occurred about three weeks ago," the complaint says, citing interviews with the victim's mother. "Mom he's threatening me again," the boyfriend allegedly told his mom.
The woman accused Rollins of being someone who "did not pay for anything" and claimed that his boyfriend had been "supporting" him for the past year. "Rollins would just lie around all day," the mother told police, according to the complaint. "[The boyfriend] had approached Rollins and told him that he needed to do something."
During police interviews, Rollins stated that he and the victim had "broken off their relationship" and then he "spiraled into a deep depression," according to cops. He allegedly claimed that there was an argument between them about the internet and paying the bill after the Wi-Fi went out.
"He stated that when he went to plug the router back in, [the boyfriend] reached over him," according to the complaint. "Rollins stated that something snapped in him where he felt unsafe and something clicked in him and said shoot him, shoot him in the head and don't apologize for it."
Rollins allegedly told police that his boyfriend brought the internet router up to Rollins' room on the second floor of their home and he threw the router on Rollins' bed while Rollins was sitting on the bed. "This started a verbal argument between Rollins and [the boyfriend] over who would pay for the internet," the complaint states.
Rollins claimed that he insisted on paying the internet bill as this was the last bill that was in his name and gave him a "sense of security of being able to remain in my home," according to the complaint. Rollins stated that the victim would not allow him to help pay the other bills in the home.
"Rollins stated that he took the internet router down to the basement to plug it in," the complaint says. "[The boyfriend] followed him down the stairs."
A scuffle allegedly unfolded between the two men as Rollins reached up to plug the internet router back in and his boyfriend tried unplugging it. Rollins elbowed the victim and pushed him to the ground, then started beating him with an office chair, which sparked more fighting between them.
"After punching [the boyfriend], Rollins stood up and backed up," the complaint says, noting how Rollins had his gun holstered on his hip. "Rollins stated that [the boyfriend] stood up as well, but as he turned towards Rollins, Rollins shot at [the boyfriend] twice."
Rollins allegedly told police that the first shot missed but the second one struck the victim in the head. He then went upstairs and drove to the police department to talk to officers and turn over his gun, according to the complaint.
"Rollins stated that he did not feel secure if [the boyfriend] took the internet bill away from him," police report. "He admitted that he could have walked away, but [the boyfriend] was over him."
Police say they asked Rollins if shooting the victim was "completely necessary" and he admitted that he did not think so. Rollins also allegedly confessed to officers that he had been using methamphetamine leading up to the incident.
When officers went to the couple's home, they found the boyfriend in the basement "twitching" and "gasping for air," according to the complaint. He had a single gunshot wound to his head and was transported to a local hospital, where he died.
Rollins was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide and meth possession. He was being held on a $750,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 22 for a preliminary hearing.
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