SHERMAN – The husband of a woman who was shot and killed by a hunter, who reportedly mistook her for a deer last November, spoke out on Thursday just hours after learning a technicality set his wife’s alleged killer free.
Jamie Billiquist said, after speaking with the Chatuauqua County District Attorney’s Office, he remains confident that justice will be served in the shooting death of his wife, Rosemary Billquist.
“I talked to the DA this morning, and I kind of knew what was going on before anything happened,” said Billquist. “Today was just kind of a hiccup I guess, but he’s (suspected shooter, Thomas Jadlowski) not going to just walk away.”
News of the dismissal of the charges against the Jadlowski spread quickly through the Village of Sherman.
According to a source who claimed that she grew up with Jadlowski, he learned about the dismissal on Wednesday and subsequently held a small get-together with friends and family.
Billquist also wanted to quell rumors circulating on various social media platforms.
“There’s a lot of people reaching out that are probably angry right now,” said Billquist. “I don’t want them to be angry on social media. I had to post something (on his Facebook page) because I was getting a ton of messages and calls, and people are upset because a lot of people are watching this.”
We sought comment from at least 20 village residents who claimed to have some sort of relationship with either the victim or the suspect. Most of the people we encountered declined comment for fearing that their relationship with either party would be tarnished for speaking publicly.
Billquist said he is moving forward with optimism and courage.
“It’s out of my hands; there’s nothing I can do,” said Billquist. “Unfortunately, bad things happen, but I have a good feeling about this. I won’t change my demeanor, I’ll still be a great person. I know she (Rosemary) is really proud of me right now.”
Multiple attempts to obtain a statement from Thomas Jadlowski’s attorney, Michael Cerrie, were unsuccessful.
Multimedia Journalist Justin Gould contributed to this report.
