A Deviously Hypocritical Killer

this part of the story is covered for now The congregation loved him and called his sermons the best they had ever heard. He was, by every account the episode gives, a man who needed to be admired, and the life he presented was a fabrication.

He and Sharon married in 1966 and had three daughters, Suzanne, Genelou and Danielle. details of the account remain covered until revealed From about 1992 he confided in Danielle, telling her repeatedly that he wanted a divorce, that Sharon was fat and ugly, that she disgusted him so much he could not touch her, and that he was impotent, which he blamed on her. Then in 1994, while serving as pastor in Orleans, Nebraska, he began an affair with Debbie Christianson, a married woman who was an elder in his church. In a small town the rumours travelled, and his superiors suggested he might be happier elsewhere. He denied everything to his boss and told the congregation the story was a vicious lie; to prove it he announced from the pulpit that he could not possibly have committed adultery because he was impotent.

The family moved to Wolsey in July 1996, but the affair continued. He travelled to Kansas and Nebraska for what he called counselling meetings and met Debbie in motels. She divorced her husband and pressed him to do the same. In January 1999 she ended the relationship, saying she was tired of sneaking around, though she left the door open if he ever became single. They were back together by February. All three daughters knew about the affair, and Sharon had found love letters in his trouser pockets. He told Suzanne that he would divorce Sharon after Genelou's wedding, which was set for 7 June 1999.

Early in 1999 Sharon began having what the court documents called curious mishaps. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Suzanne's husband examined the stairs and found fresh wood shavings and screw holes where a wire had been fixed. this part of the story is covered for now Dr Richard Reed found no physical sign of a shock and described him as extremely anxious, breathing rapidly and complaining of pain in various parts of his body. details of the account remain covered until revealed Dr Jeff Hansen found nothing wrong, and a toxicology screen showed no drugs, though it would not have detected Benadryl. Sharon remembered nothing of the day and believed she had overdosed on Benadryl and herbal diet pills. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

On 29 April 1999 he went to the clinic complaining of insomnia and came away with a prescription for temazepam, fifteen capsules of thirty milligrams with three refills. That same day he told Sharon he had lost the prescription, she telephoned the doctor, and a second prescription was called in to Stats Drug. He filled one at Kmart that afternoon and the other at Stats Drug two hours later, and with the refills he had sixty pills inside a fortnight. Meanwhile the church computer, which he used because Sharon knew nothing about the internet, was being used for searches. Two days before the lamp incident somebody spent two hours searching household accidents and bathtub accidents. Through April there were searches on household accidents and on prescription drugs, including lorazepam, Ambien and temazepam, and pages downloaded from drug manufacturers. He also looked at a book called Worst Pills, Best Pills, a consumer's guide to avoiding drug-induced death or illness, which warned about temazepam. The last drug search was on 27 April, two days before he went to the doctor for the prescription, and on 4 May the computer was used again to search for temazepam.

this part of the story is covered for now When he came back he said he noticed the hallway floor was wet, opened the bathroom door and found Sharon unconscious, naked and face down in the bathtub. details of the account remain covered until revealed When the paramedics arrived they found him on his hands and knees, sobbing and asking for help. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it At the hospital Sharon regained some heart activity, but she never breathed on her own or recovered brain function, and she died on 15 May 1999, aged 54.

Dr Brad Randall performed the autopsy the next day. Toxicology found diazepam, lorazepam and oxazepam, and a debilitating level of temazepam, about twenty capsules. It was not a fatal dose but enough to render her unconscious, and the pills had been taken within four hours of the drowning. There were no capsule remnants for the temazepam, although there were remnants of her other medication, which suggested the powder had been emptied into something. Temazepam capsules unscrew, and the powder is tasteless and odourless. Her daily morning chocolate milk was the obvious vehicle. A friend who cleaned the house afterwards wiped up what she took to be flour from the kitchen counter; Sharon was allergic to flour, so it would not have been out in use. There were still cartons of chocolate milk in the refrigerator.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Sharon's brother Larry Prevence heard him describe the death several times in his own living room and the details never matched. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Dr Alan Berman, a clinical psychologist and suicidologist, testified that Sharon had a minimum of predisposing risk factors for suicide: no mental illness, no depression, no chemical dependency, no family history of suicide, no significant physical illness, and plans for her daughter's wedding and the promised cruise. He said fewer than two per cent of women kill themselves by drowning in a bath and that those who do generally lie back as if sleeping, whereas Sharon was found face down. A woman self-conscious about her weight, he said, would not choose to be found naked. His opinion was that she did not die by suicide. The defence produced Dr Michael McGrath, a clinical psychologist who attacked Berman's methodology but offered no opinion on Sharon's state of mind.

After the prosecution rested, the defence produced an unsigned note dated 13 May 1999 and addressed to Suzanne. It said she was sorry she had ruined Suzanne's wedding, that she would not be at Genelou's, that Suzanne would understand after the wedding was done, and it was signed, I love you all, mom. Guthrie said he had found it on 10 June in the liturgy book in the church office and given it to his lawyers five days later. On the home computer investigators found other suicide notes and a document with conspicuous similarities to the note, also dated 13 May but created and modified on 7 August 1999. Asked about it, he said, I probably did, but I don't remember. There was also the unsent email of 16 April to Genelou describing Sharon's sleepwalking and her Benadryl use, an email the daughter never received.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Sharon is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska.