"" Thursday 17 April 2014
Police in Colorado are investigating whether
marijuana use played a role in the death of
a woman in Denver, who was killed by a
gunshot to the head at the end of an
increasingly desperate 911 phone call.
Kristine Kirk, 44, could be heard telling
Denver Police dispatch that her husband
was “hallucinating” and “talking about the
end of the world” before he retrieved a gun
from a safe and she started screaming.
Officers were sent to the address at 9.32pm
on Monday night believing they would be
dealing with a domestic disturbance, but 13
minutes later a gunshot was heard over the
phone, after which the caller fell silent.
Police arrived at the home in the affluent
Observatory Park area just two minutes
after that, and arrested 47-year-old Richard
Kirk on suspicion of murder.
A spokesperson for Denver Police, Sonny
Jackson, told local TV station Fox 31 that
investigators were “looking at their possibly
being a marijuana aspect to this particular
investigation”. He refused to comment on
whether or not marijuana or any other
drug had been retrieved from the family’s
home.
According to a statement of probable cause
filed on the case by Detective Troy Bisgard,
Ms Kirk said her husband had initially
“wanted her to shoot him”.
Detective Bisgard, who listened to the 911
call after arriving at the scene, described
how Ms Kirk said “there was a gun in the
residence but that it was in a safe”.
“She said that her husband was
hallucinating and he was scaring their three
small children. She then said that her
husband retrieved the gun from the safe and
she began to scream. Detective Bisgard then
heard an apparent gunshot and the victim
was not heard on the call again,” the
document read.
Photo of Richard Kirk provided by the Denver
Police Department. Kirk is being held for
investigation of first-degree murder in the
death of his wife in their Denver home (AP)
Detective Bisgard added that, according to
one of the first officers to arrive at the
home, “Mr Kirk told [him] without
questioning that he killed his wife”.
Mr Jackson said that the recording of the
911 call would not be released to the public
during the course of the investigation.
Vince Kirk, Richard’s brother, told Fox 31
that he hoped the incident could be
explained by drug use, but added that his
brother wasn’t suffering from any mental
health issues and that he was not a regular
cannabis user.
Local media reported that at least one of the
couple’s three small children may have
witnessed the attack itself, and a little boy
was apparently seen being led away to a
police car.
Police are investigating whether marijuana
played a role in the killing (AP)
“My heart goes out to those three boys and
Kris’ family,” said Vince Kirk. “I hope there
are some answers that come out about this.
Was it marijuana? I don’t think so.”
According to the Denver Post, which
reported the timeline of events based on
police dispatch radio conversations, officers
on their way to the home “were warned
that Kirk’s wife said he had been smoking
marijuana”.
Crimes that potentially involve the use of
marijuana are currently under intense
scrutiny in Colorado, after the state became
the first to legalise recreational use of the
drug this year .
According to the LA Times, last month the
Denver coroner’s office linked the suicide of
a 19-year-old college student to marijuana
intoxication. He had reportedly eaten a
cannabis-laced cookie before jumping off a
balcony.""
Link.