Man arrested in Provo attempted kidnapping

PROVO — Police have arrested a man they say tried to kidnap and threatened to kill a 4-year-old girl who was playing in front of a Provo home with her 6-year-old friend Thursday.

Police said William Shepherd, 42, was kneeling down and holding the 4-year-old girl by her shoulder and stomach and talking to her when the mother of the 6-year-old ran over to confront him. She overheard him tell the 4-year-old, "you're coming with me," according to an affidavit filed in Provo's 4th District Court.

Shepherd tried to take the girl, but the mother grabbed the girl's arm and screamed at Shepherd to leave, the affidavit says. After a brief struggle, the mother ran away with the girl in her arms and yelled at her own daughter, the 6-year-old, to run inside while Shepherd chased them, police said.

Shepherd tried to break into the house, but the mother was able to push the door closed on him and latch it, the affidavit says. He then allegedly screamed through the door, "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!"

The mother called the 4-year-old's mother and maintained eye contact with Shepherd, who was walking up and down the street in front of the home, police say. When the 4-year-old's mother arrived, she tried to confront him when he screamed at the woman that he was going to kill her and attempted to "lunge into her window," according to the affidavit.

Police arrested Shepherd for investigation of child kidnapping, attempted burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police say Shepherd had .2 grams of methamphetamine on him when arrested.

While being transported to the Utah County Jail, police say the man made "spontaneous statements" like "all kids are my kids" and that he needed to protect children from people like him.

Shepherd has been reported numerous times for approaching children in parks and yards, but these instances had not warranted any previous action, the police report states.

When the two children were later interviewed by the Children's Justice Center, they said Shepherd told them he was the 4-year-old's father, although police say the girl's family does not know him. The 6-year-old's older sister said she remembered the man coming to her house a couple days earlier and tried to bribe her with an iPod or a phone if she would come with him, the affidavit says.

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