Prosecutors: Wyoming man left obsessive notes about plan to murd - KTVQ.com | Q2 | Continuous News Coverage | Billings, MT
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LOVELL, Wyo. - Prosecutors allege the Lovell man who made his initial court appearance Monday for the murder of his ex-wife allegedly plotted her death for several days, writing journal entries about his desire to kill her and “get even.”
Donald Crouse, 48, is charged in Big Horn County Circuit Court with murder in the first degree.
Crouse allegedly stabbed his ex-wife, Carol Jean Barnes, multiple times on Jan. 4 at the apartment where she was living in Lovell.
Prosecutors believe Crouse plotted the murder for at least four days, documenting his obsession with ending Barnes’ life in handwritten notes he left at the crime scene.
On the day of her murder, Barnes, 49, sent her son a text message saying “I need help,” according to court documents.
Barnes’ son asked authorities to conduct a welfare check.
Lovell police officers, along with deputies from the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the home on the 400 block of West 7th Street.
Authorities found blood near the front door and on the door jam, according to court documents.
Inside the home, officers found Barnes dead on the floor.
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She had injuries consistent with being stabbed and there was a large amount of blood inside the apartment, according to court documents.
Multiple knives with blood on them were found inside the apartment.
Officers located a handwritten note signed by Crouse and dated Jan. 4, the day of the murder.
“Carol has lied, manipulated, cheated on me and (expletive) me over beyond all possible thought,” the note states. “I have done what I’ve done to end that pain and be able to rest in peace with self respect.”
A second note, dated Jan. 2, was found nearby.
“If you want to know what caused this, read the memos in my phone,” the note states. “My mission is explained in there.”
Authorities located a third note dated Dec. 31, four days before the murder.
“I pray she shows up with the oil for dinner, and that I didn’t miss my chance when I backed out both those times, I just need to have this last chance and I won’t mess it up, I’ll get the job done,” the note states.
Additional entries on the note indicate Crouse had been contemplating the murder for several days.
“Feeling a lot of fear that Carol will not show back up for me to get even,” states a note dated Dec.31.
The next entry, dated Jan. 1, states: “New Year’s Day, still no sound from her.”
Days later, investigators spoke with a man, who said Crouse called him saying he “freaked out and killed Carol.”
According to court documents, Crouse left the crime scene in the victim’s Subaru.
He was later seen at a convenience store in Casper wearing bloody clothing, according to court documents.
When officers arrested Crouse 200 miles away in Mills, Wyo., he allegedly admitted to the murder.
Crouse is in custody.
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