A Colorado man has been arrested for the alleged murder of his wife as police discovered his ‘double life’.
Patrick Barnett’s wife, 37-year-old elementary school art teacher Lindsey Barnett, was found dead in the shower at their family home in Lakewood with a large cut to her throat on Thursday, August 13.
Barnett, 40, reportedly told authorities that he had found her in the bathroom with self-inflicted injuries, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Denver Post.
After calling the police just after 6am, first responders arrived at the scene but were unable to revive her.
Lindsey — who shared two children with Barnett — was found to be unresponsive in the shower, with a five-inch knife reportedly near her body.
Police say they became suspicious when a large pool of blood was found on the bed, despite Barnett saying he had found Lindsey in the shower.
They also found a trail of Lindsey’s blood leading from the bedroom to the bathroom.
When authorities suggested that Lindsey actually died in bed, and not in the shower on her own, Barnett maintained that the bathroom was where he found her, Daily Mail reports.
‘He claimed to have no knowledge of what happened,’ police wrote in the affidavit.
Later, they also found that Barnett had sustained numerous injuries, including a wound on his thumb and scratches on his arms, said to be consistent with defensive injuries.
When pressed about the marks on his body, Barnett reportedly told police that they were a result of a frisbee tournament back in July.
However, he reportedly later change this statement, telling police that he was unsure of how he sustained the injuries and suggested that they may have come from an ultimate frisbee tournament on August 8.
It was reported that, as well as the large cut to Lindsey’s throat, she had sustained bruises on her arms, legs, back, hips and hands.
Dried blood marks were also found on Barnett’s neck and behind his ears following his wife’s death, which it’s said he could not explain.
Barnett is now being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree murder. His next court appearance is Thursday, August 20.
Following Lindsey’s death — and when questioned by police — Barnett reportedly said he had last seen his wife between 10pm and 10.30pm the previous night.
He claimed they had been arguing about that night’s dinner.
Barnett then alleged that he woke up around 5.30am the next morning after sleeping in the basement and went to check on his wife and children upstairs.
That’s when he reportedly found Lindsey in the bathroom, and made the emergency call.
As Barnett spoke about discovering her body, police said he was ‘audibly sobbing’ but ‘there were no tears.’
Barnett told investigators they had been having ‘relationship issues’ over the last few months and hadn’t been sleeping in the same bed.
He said Lindsey had taken the main bedroom, while he had been bedding down in the basement.
Despite reportedly having relationship troubles, investigators wrote in the affidavit that Barnett said they were ‘working on their marriage.’
They added that he was ‘excited about the prospect of moving back upstairs.’
Barnett told investigators that, leading up to her death, Lindsey had been suffering from postpartum depression.
He claimed that he had not been herself since the birth of their daughter in February.
However, Barnett could not confirm whether his wife was taking any medication.
Barnett’s claims were contested by Lindsey’s parents, who argued their daughter was not depressed or suicidal.
Lindsey’s mother, Donna Ott, told police that she was making plans for the upcoming school year.
In addition, Donna claimed that Barnett had been verbally abusive and controlling of her daughter. She then backed up Barnett’s claims that their five-year marriage was ‘troubled.’
Donna told police that, while she believed Barnett had anger issues, he had never physically abused Lindsey.
Donna recalled one incident earlier this year when Lindsey requested to stay at her parents’ house because she needed to get away from her husband.
A double life revealed
While investigating Lindsey’s death, police were contacted by a mystery woman who said she was Barnett’s girlfriend.
This was after he told authorities that there had been no infidelity during their relationship by either party.
The woman reportedly told police that she had was worried about Barnett as she had not heard from him for a while and requested a welfare check.
It was revealed that Barnett had met the woman three months ago online, with him telling her that he was divorcing his wife.
Barnett also allegedly told the woman that Lindsey was severely mentally ill and had been in a psychiatric unit. He said that she had attempted suicide and wasn’t living in the family home.
However, when police questioned this alleged extramarital relationship, Barnett reportedly changed his story.
He told authorities that Lindsey actually knew about the affair and was OK with it, but that no one else knew.
