A man who originally said his wife killed herself is now a potential suspect in her death, according to an arrest warrant.
43-year-old Cain Wilkens reportedly ran to his apartment manager's office on Albion Street at 3:20 a.m. Sunday screaming that his wife had just shot herself, the affidavit from Denver Police says.
Several minutes later, Denver Police officers found Clarissa Wilkens unresponsive in a bedroom inside one of the Albion Street apartments. Paramedics pronounced her dead on scene.
A witness nearby told police that he could hear the woman screaming earlier that morning, slamming doors and begging "no" loudly before a man's voice replied multiple times, "Get back here!"
Police found Cain, Clarissa's husband, and took him to police headquarters to get a written statement.
By 8:30 a.m. that morning, a detective was granted a search warrant for the apartment at 1500 Albion Street and found a gun in an unlocked safe in the same bedroom where Clarissa's body was found. The gun had blood on it, according to Cain's arrest affidavit.
Investigators also found two unloaded shotguns, an unloaded .22 caliber rifle and an unloaded 40 caliber handgun in the room as well.
According to the affidavit, Clarissa was shot in the back of the head. The medical examiner couldn't even get her mouth open to see if she had any other wounds.
On January 22, an autopsy was done on Clarissa's body, finding just the one bullet wound in the back of her head. There was no sign of soot or slipping commonly found on gunshots that were done in close proximity (as many suicides are), according to police.
The examiner didn't find any blood on Clarissa's hands either, which would be consistent with self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the affidavit says.
By noon on Monday, detectives spoke with Cain again. After their conversation, officers requested that Cain be held on an investigative hold for first-degree murder while the investigation continues.
At this time, Cain has not been formally charged with a crime.
