The results could help investigators reconstruct what happened when the 31-year-old mother was shot and killed by a Rohnert Park public safety officer last weekend. Billings, also known as Heather Smith, died Sunday afternoon after her mother called 911 seeking help at the Cornell Avenue home they shared.
Billings, who had a history of alcoholism and psychiatric issues, had started drinking the day before after six months of sobriety, her mother, Patti Smith, said later.
She was in emotional distress and had deeply slashed her arm with a 2-inch blade from a utility knife, Smith and authorities said.
Patti Smith called 911 for help when her daughter started yelling and overturning furniture, bringing Rohnert Park Officer Robert Lankford to their door.
Lankford fired after Billings advanced on him with the blade and ignored his demands to drop it, police said.
But Smith said her daughter already had dropped the blade and wasn't threatening the officer when she was shot the first time. Billings collapsed and was shot twice more on the floor, her mother said.
The autopsy results could be interpreted as supporting the police version of events. The three bullet wounds "were in close proximity of each other with consistent paths," according to the coroner's office.
"It does not tend to demonstrate that the directions the shots were fired were completely different," said Chief Deputy Coroner Sgt. Mitch Mana. But he cautioned against reading too much into the report, saying other conclusions also could be drawn.
The Santa Rosa Police Department is conducting a field investigation and toxicology tests are being conducted, he said. The toxicology results could take several weeks.
Billings' death was caused by the three gunshot wounds, which caused "significant damage" to her heart, right lung and liver.
Billings had numerous scars of various ages on her upper arms, legs and stomach, according to the coroner's office.
It was the 29th time since 2004 that the Public Safety Department, which provides both police and fire service to Rohnert Park, had responded to the residence, said Santa Rosa police.
Billings cut herself again in the arm seconds before Lankford got there, Santa Rosa police said.
But Smith and police offer differing versions of what ensued: Smith says her daughter posed a threat only to herself, and authorities say Lankford feared for his safety and that of others, including Billings' 11-year-old son, who was in another room.
Repeated attempts to contact Tom Bullard, Rohnert Park's public safety chief, were unsuccessful.
Rohnert Park Lt. Jeff Taylor said Bullard was at a weeklong conference in San Francisco and likely would not comment.
Even if Bullard were in his office, he would not discuss the matter now being investigated by Santa Rosa police under a countywide protocol governing police shootings and in-custody deaths, Taylor said.
The underlying aim of the protocol is to allow an objective investigating agency to gather facts independent of the department involved.
Anything Bullard might say "would be, what, his opinion?" Taylor said. "And if his opinion interferes with the investigation at this point that would be irresponsible."
Inquiries about the shooting have been referred to Santa Rosa police, who said Wednesday they had no new information to release.
Billings' death is the fourth fatal officer-involved shooting involving a mental patient or person with psychological issues in Sonoma County in just over a year.
Taylor said Billings' death was emotional for public service personnel.
"It's the sad side of our business, but we train for it," he said.
Asked about the disputed facts, Taylor said he'd seen a video on The Press Democrat's Web site in which Billings' mother describes her version of events.
"I saw her rendition, the mother's rendition of the incident, and I wasn't there. But to sit there and have a debate with her on something like that, no I'm not going to do that," he said. "That's irresponsible."
You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. Staff Writer Steve Hart contributed to this story.
