American man murdered his wife, then bought a sex doll with her insurance money

Colby Trickle, a resident of Hays in the US state of Kansas, called 911 in 2019 to inform authorities that his wife had shot herself. Even though Police Officer Sergeant Brandon Hauptman of the Hays Police Department became suspicious after arriving at the crime scene, Colby Trickle was let go because the coroner, Dr. Lyle Nordhock, ruled Kristen Trickle’s death a suicide.

Police continued to wonder if Colby Trickle had anything to do with his wife’s death and continued working on the case.

Months later, after Colby Trickle cashed out a total of more than $120,000 on two life insurance policies for his wife, he spent nearly $2,000 on a life-size sex doll two days after receiving the payout. His sudden purchase raised eyebrows.

Detectives reported that Colby Trickle did not seem like he was going through the grieving process after his wife’s death. Detective Joshua “JB” Burkholder was quoted as saying, “I think there’s a grieving process that everyone should go through – one should go through when a loved one dies – and it was only a few months after his wife’s death. It was a matter of concern for her to order such a doll.” As it is said CBS News,

The documentary also discusses the death and investigation leading to Colby Trickle’s arrest in 2023 Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind,

Detectives did not rely on their suspicions to arrest Colby Trickle. They found that Colby, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, had lied about his tours in Central America and West Asia. When they contacted the US military they said Colby had never been deployed overseas.

Law enforcement officials, who spent two years building a case against Colby, were also suspicious about the size of the gun and the clothes his wife Kristen was wearing at the time of her alleged suicide.

“I was just horrified that he would use Kristen’s life insurance money for a sex doll. It was just like she bought a replacement with her own money,” Kristen Trickle’s aunt, Daylin Rice, was quoted as saying CBS News,

Assistant Ellis County Attorney Aaron Cunningham told the outlet that $120,000 of the insurance money was spent in about eight months. Colby paid off loans, spent thousands of dollars on video games, and bought music equipment because he planned to become an artist.

Police also noted Kristen Trickle’s phone alarm which was ringing at the scene that morning. Detective Joshua “JB” Burkholder said that in most cases when individuals commit suicide they do not have a plan for that day.

“She set an alarm to get up, get ready for work, and had a plan for the day. Many times, people who think about suicide and commit suicide do not have any plan for that day. They are not setting the alarm. It doesn’t matter when they wake up,” he said.

Colby Trickle was charged with first-degree murder and interference with law enforcement in July 2021, 21 months after Kristen Trickle’s death. Dr. Ashley Christiansen, a psychologist appointed by the prosecution to conduct the psychological autopsy of Kristen Trickle, told jurors that after performing the autopsy she found that Kristen Trickle was unlikely to have taken her own life.

The jury also found Colby Trickle guilty and he was sentenced last November to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years.