Current:Home > reviewsKansas murder suspect uses wife's life insurance payout to buy a sex doll -ValueMetric
Kansas murder suspect uses wife's life insurance payout to buy a sex doll
View
Date:2025-04-26 10:04:48
Early on Halloween morning 2019, Colby Trickle called 911 saying his 26-year-old wife, Kristen Trickle, shot herself in their home in Hays, Kansas. Sergeant Brandon Hauptman from the Hays Police Department was the responding officer. After speaking with Colby Trickle, and looking at the scene, he was suspicious. Hauptman wondered if Colby Trickle had something to do with his wife's death. But three days later, the coroner, Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, ruled Kristen Trickle's death a suicide. Colby Trickle was free to go on with his life, but investigators kept working the case.
Colby Trickle, who was in the Army Reserve, cashed in on two life insurance policies for his wife totaling more than $120,000. Investigators say he spent nearly $2,000 on a life-size sex doll just two days after receiving an insurance payout.
Detective Joshua "JB" Burkholder tells "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty, "There's a mourning process that I think everyone needs to go through — should go through when a loved one dies — and to have him ordering this type of doll just months after his wife's death was concerning." The investigation into Colby Trickle's spending is part of this week's all-new broadcast, "Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind," airing Saturday, April 27, at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
When Kristen Trickle's 's aunt, Delynn Rice, heard about the doll, she told Moriarty, "I was just appalled that he would use Kristen's life insurance money for a sex doll. It just was like he bought a replacement of her with her money."
Assistant Ellis County Attorney, Aaron Cunningham told "48 Hours" that Colby Trickle spent all $120,000 of the insurance money in about eight months. In addition to buying the life-size sex doll, he also spent thousands of dollars on video games, paying off debts, and buying music equipment in hopes of becoming a performer.
Colby Trickle would be free for almost two years while investigators built a case against him. Hauptman told "48 Hours" about seeing Colby Trickle right after he reported that Kristen Trickle had shot herself in the head. Hauptman says even though Colby Trickle appeared to be grieving his wife's death, there were certain aspects about the scene he thought were unusual. Kristen Trickle was only wearing underwear and he told "48 Hours" that although it happens, it is unusual for women to complete a suicide that causes injury to the face. Hauptman added that the gun found at the scene seemed large for her to have fired.
Another red flag for police was Kristen Trickle's phone alarm that kept going off at the scene that morning. Burkholder remembers silencing it. "She had set an alarm to get up, to get ready for work, and had plans for that day. A lot of times, individuals who are thinking about suicide and do commit suicide — they don't have any plans for the day. They're not setting alarms. It doesn't matter when they get up," he said.
Colby Trickle agreed to sit down and talk to investigators without a lawyer on several occasions. He shared detailed stories about intel work he claimed he did for the military and his tours to the Middle East and Central America, but when investigators inquired with the military, they were told Colby Trickle had never been deployed overseas or out of the country. Investigators say his lies, along with the inconsistencies at the scene, made them more suspicious about Colby Trickle's account of how Kristen Trickle died.
On July 14, 2021, 21 months after Kristen Trickle's death, Colby Trickle was charged with murder in the first degree and interfering with law enforcement. At his trial in September 2023, prosecutors told jurors about Colby Trickle's sex doll purchase. His mother Tina Kreutzer took the stand as a defense witness. She told jurors Colby Trickle was having nightmares and trouble sleeping after his wife's death and says the doll was for warmth and comfort — and she didn't think it was for sex.
After hearing Colby Trickle's mother testify, Kristen Trickle's uncle, Brant Rice, told "48 Hours" he was, "Disgusted. Just disgusted." And as far as needing the doll for warmth and comfort he said, "We have electric blankets we use for that. "
Eventually jurors would hear from Dr. Ashley Christiansen, a psychologist hired by the prosecution to conduct a psychological autopsy of Kristen Trickle, essentially to look into her state of mind before her death. Christiansen concluded Kristen Trickle was unlikely to have taken her own life.
A jury found Colby Trickle guilty. In November 2023, more than four years after Kristen Trickle died, he was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years.
- In:
- 48 Hours
- True Crime
Iris Carreras covers crime for CBSNews.com
veryGood! (45)
Related
- Average rate on 30
- Alabama's Mark Sears has taken what his mom calls the backroad route to basketball glory
- Who's hosting 'SNL' tonight? Cast, musical guest, where to watch March 30 episode
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto's impressive rebound puts positive spin on Dodgers' loss
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- A California woman missing for more than a month is found dead near a small Arizona border town
- Still need some solar eclipse glasses before April 8? Here's where you might find some
- 2024 men's NCAA Tournament Final Four dates, game times, TV, location, teams and more
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- A Power Line Debate Pits Environmental Allies Against Each Other in the Upper Midwest
Ranking
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Gmail revolutionized email 20 years ago. People thought it was Google’s April Fool’s Day joke
- First they tried protests of anti-gay bills. Then students put on a play at Louisiana’s Capitol
- Newspaper edits its column about LSU-UCLA game after Tigers coach Kim Mulkey blasted it as sexist
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Veteran CB Cameron Sutton turns himself in weeks after domestic violence allegation
- Ohio authorities close case of woman found dismembered in 1964 in gravel pit and canal channel
- A California woman missing for more than a month is found dead near a small Arizona border town
Recommendation
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Brittany Mahomes Appears Makeup-Free as She Holds Both Kids Sterling and Bronze in Sweet Photo
An inclusive eclipse: How people with disabilities can experience the celestial moment
Veteran CB Cameron Sutton turns himself in weeks after domestic violence allegation
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
1 year after Evan Gershkovich's arrest in Russia, Biden vows to continue working every day for his release
Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR Cup Series' Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond after late caution flag
She bought a $100 tail and turned her wonder into a magical mermaid career