Warning: This article discusses suicide, which may be distressing for some readers.
A man, who was eventually convicted of murdering his wife, used her insurance payout to buy a sex doll.
On Halloween morning in 2019, Colby Trickle placed a 911 call after allegedly waking up to find his wife, Kristen, deceased.
Colby claimed that his wife had ended her own life, and police found her with a gunshot wound to her head.
The firearm, purportedly used in the suicide, was found on her abdomen.
Although Colby insisted it was suicide, law enforcement was suspicious from the outset.
After Kristen’s sudden death, Colby, who was an Army reservist, received a $120,000 insurance payout.
Investigators noted that just days after receiving the money, Colby spent $2,000 on an expensive life-size sex doll, a purchase they found troubling.
Detective Joshua Burkholder told 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty: “There’s a mourning process that I think everyone needs to go through – should go through when a loved one dies – and to have him ordering this type of doll just months after his wife’s death was concerning.”
Kristen’s aunt expressed her disgust, stating she was ‘appalled’ that Colby used the money to buy the explicit item, implying he ‘bought a replacement of her with her money,’ as reported by CBS News.
Besides the sex doll, Colby reportedly spent the insurance payout on video games, repaying debts, and purchasing music equipment in his quest to become a performer.
In just eight months, he had spent the entire $120,000.
For nearly two years after Kristen’s death, Colby remained free while prosecutors gathered evidence against him.
One suspicious detail noted by investigators was that on the day Kristen died, she had set a phone alarm to wake up for work as usual, suggesting she intended to go about her day normally.
“She had set an alarm to get up, to get ready for work, and had plans for that day,” Detective Burkholder recalled. “A lot of times, individuals who are thinking about suicide and do [take their own life] – they don’t have any plans for the day. They’re not setting alarms. It doesn’t matter when they get up.”
It was only in July 2021 that Colby was charged with Kristen’s murder. During his trial, his mother testified, claiming the sex doll he bought after his wife’s death was merely ‘for warmth and comfort’.
After considering all the evidence, the jury found Colby guilty, and in November 2023, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.