Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of suicide and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
CBS 48 Hours will take a look into the shooting death of Kristen Trickle in October 2019. The upcoming episode “Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind” airs on the network this Saturday, April 27, 2024, at 10:00 p.m. ET. A synopsis reads, “A Kansas woman is found dying from a gunshot wound. Evidence at the scene doesn’t add up, so a prosecutor gets creative.”
According to KAKE News, on October 31, 2019, first responders found Kristen wounded or died from a gunshot wound to the head in her Kays, Kansas, home. Her husband, Colby Trickle, had made the distressing 911 call after 5:00 that morning, per the CBS 48 Hours sneak peek. Colby told officers that the 26-year-old took her own life.
Later, an autopsy ruled that Kristen Trickle’s death was a suicide. But, her family refused to agree that she was ever suicidal. Evidence at the crime scene and a subsequent investigation then revealed otherwise. Nearly two years later, authorities made an arrest and concluded with a shocking murder conviction in 2023.
Kristen Trickle’s murder: Who was the suspect charged and convicted?
In the CBS 48 Hours episode sneak peek, experts describe the crime scene, the murder weapon, and the suicide claim. Authorities found Kristen Trickle “with a large weapon laying in bed,” which is not a common sight to witness. Moreover, the weapon was a “pretty hefty” firearm. Experts claimed that they had a replica of the weapon she allegedly used. They said the gun was “awkward to maneuver,” alleging that it’s “not something you’d easily turn on yourself.”
Authorities described the crime scene to be “unusual.” Additionally, they found evidence that linked Kristen’s husband, Colby Trickle, to her death. They believed he killed her. However, Colby’s defense attorney argued that he placed the call when Kristen was still alive and wouldn’t have done that if he intended to murder her. His lawyer also highlights the possibility that Kristen “picked up the gun that night in great anguish and ended her life.”
Hays Post reported that authorities arrested Colby Trickle in July 2021, nearly two years after Kristen Trickle’s death. He was facing a premeditated first-degree murder charge as well as charges for lying to the police. Colby stood trial in September 2023, which ended in a murder conviction. The jury deliberated for almost two hours before delivering the guilty verdict. He received a prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole for 50 years, per Fox 54 News Now.
The CBS 48 Hours episode will also examine how experts conducted a forensic psychological evaluation. The evaluation was a part of the detailed investigation. The episode sneak peek reveals that a professional “dug into basically every aspect of her life” to learn who “Kristen was before her death.”
Correspondent Erin Moriarty describes it as a “psychological autopsy” of Kristen Trickle. In the preview, Moriarty confirms with the expert that the purpose of the evaluation is to “figure out the state of mind of a person who died.” Kristen’s case was the first criminal instance in which they did a forensic psychological evaluation in Kansas.
The episode “Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind” airs on Saturday, April 27, on CBS.
