Eviction for non payment of utilities?

[Carrie Nevins]

My tenant moved in last October and paid the year in advance. Her husband recently passed away and her house was paid in full, so she was able to pay using the money from the sale of her house. I've always had issues with tenants paying rent late, so i decided to take risk. 

However,  I've been receiving sewer bills for the past two months that are overdue. She hasn't paid a single one since she moved in, which leads me to believe she may not be paying others either. I'm going to call the utility companies and see if/how late she is. 

My question is, if she doesn't agree to take care of the balances in full, should i start the eviction process? 

I'm also worried that if I do start eviction she will try and get back at me (i.e. destroy the property). I am going to research laws in Missouri, but does anyone know how I would go about refunding the already paid rent if she does leave? Or if I am legally obligated to refund all of it before I assess any damages. 

No judgements please. She put on a very good show regarding her personality and type of person that she was and I have paid the price for that financially and mentally enough already.

Thanks in advance 

[Nathan Gesner]

@Carrie Nevins you are making the common mistake of failing to communicate with your tenant.

This could be a very simple solution. Your tenant went through the trouble of setting  up her own utility accounts. Why would she do that knowing she wasn't going to pay them? Call and speak to her. I bet dollars to donuts she'll take care of it. I don't know many elderly people that pay some utilities but refuse to pay others but I do know a lot of elderly people that make innocent mistakes.

If she is just nasty and refuses to pay, let it go. The utility is in her name and she is 100% responsible. If she fails to pay, they will shut off the water and she'll either get with the program or move on.

The utility company has an agreement with her so they have to recover losses from her. There should be no risk of a lien on your home.