Erin Moriarty Reports in “48 Hours: Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind”

Kristen Trickle

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In the early morning hours of Halloween 2019 in Hays, Kansas, Colby Trickle called 911 and said he woke up to his ears ringing and saw his wife, Kristen Trickle, bleeding next to him in the bed. Responding officers found Kristen Trickle, 26, clinging to life. What happened was a mystery. Correspondent Erin Moriarty reports on the unusual investigation in 48 HOURS: “Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind,” to be broadcast Saturday, April 27 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

Sergeant Brandon Hauptman says Kristen Trickle was barely alive. “I kind of focused in, on her jaw moving. I can see the movement of her jaw,” Hauptman tells 48 HOURS.

Kristen Trickle would not survive. The coroner ruled her death was a suicide. But prosecutor Aaron Cunningham questioned if she could have fired the large caliber revolver that killed her.

“It’s awkward to maneuver, not something that you’d easily turn on yourself,” says Cunningham. Instead, he thinks Colby Trickle killed his wife. Colby Trickle’s attorney, Cassy Zeigler, points out that Colby didn’t hesitate to call 911. “I do not believe he did it ... He called and she was still showing signs of life,” Zeigler says.

Since authorities were divided on the evidence they saw at the crime scene, they tried something new and ordered a very different type of autopsy, an autopsy of Kristen Trickle’s mind.

“So basically, this is a psychological autopsy ... trying to figure out the state of mind of a person who died. That’s difficult to do, isn’t it?” Moriarty asks Cunningham.

“Yeah,” Cunningham responds.

“And had this ever been done in the state of Kansas before?” Moriarty asks.

“Never in a criminal case, No,” says Cunningham.

Investigators also began digging into Colby Trickle’s story. They pored over the data in his cellphone and discovered Trickle had been exchanging flirtatious Snapchat messages with another woman. According to detective JB Burkholder, there was also evidence on Trickle’s cellphone that contradicted what he had first told investigators when asked about life insurance on his wife. Trickle told authorities when questioned, “I have some on me from military, but that’s it.”

Prosecutors say cellphone data revealed that not only was Colby Trickle aware his wife Kristen Trickle was covered by a life insurance policy called SGLI for spouses of military members, in the days before her death he also Googled the amount the policy would pay out.

At 9:00 PM, Viktoria Nasyrova is accused of using cheesecake as a murder weapon. Her motive was to steal the identity of another woman, who looks a lot like her. Peter Van Sant reports in an encore of 48 HOURS: The Case of the Poison Cheesecake. Watch a preview

Judy Tygard is the executive producer of 48 HOURS, which is broadcast Saturdays at 10:00 PM, ET/PT on CBS, and streams anytime on Paramount+. You can also watch 48 HOURS on the CBS News Streaming Network Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, ET. 48 HOURS is also available on CBSNews.com, Fave TV, Pop TV, Pluto US, Pluto UK, Pluto Nordics, Pluto Canada and Pluto South Africa. Download the CBS News app on your phone or connected TV. Follow 48 HOURS on X, Facebook and Instagram. Listen to podcasts at CBS Audio.

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Kishon Springer Kishon.springer@paramount.com