US: Kansas man, who killed wife in 2019, bought sex doll with her life insurance money

A man from US’s Kansas, who killed his wife in 2019, used her life insurance payout and bought a life-sized sex doll worth nearly $2,000 (around Rs 1.66 lakh). The man purchased the sex doll two days after getting the insurance payout.

The man, Colby Trickle, called 911 and told the operator that his 26-year-old wife, Kristen Trickle, had shot herself in their home in Hays, Kansas, according to a CBS News report.

A responding officer, Sergeant Brandon Hauptman, soon arrived at the spot. He spoke to Colby Trickle but later suspected his involvement in his wife’s death.

But three days after Kristen Tickle’s death, Dr Lyle Noordhoek, a coroner, ruled that the woman had died by suicide.

However, after some years, it has been revealed that Colby Trickle, who was in the Army Reserve, cashed in on two life insurance policies for his wife totalling more than $120,000 (around Rs 1 crore), the CBS News report said.

According to investigators, Colby Trickle spent nearly $2,000 on a sex doll after he received the insurance payout two days ago.

Speaking to CBS News’s 48 Hours, Detective Joshua “JB” Burkholder said, “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.”

When Kristen Trickle’s aunt, Delynn Rice, came to know about the doll, she was “appalled”. “I was just appalled that he would use Kristen’s life insurance money for a sex doll. It was just like he bought a replacement of her with her money,” she said.

Assistant Ellis County Attorney, Aaron Cunningham, said Colby Trickle spent all $120,000 of the insurance payout in about eight months.

Apart from purchasing the sex doll, Colby Trickle also spent thousands of dollars on video games, paying off debts and buying music equipment to fulfill his dream of becoming a performer, CBS News reported.

On July 14, 2021, nearly two years (21 months) after Kristen Trickle’s death, Colby Trickle was charged with first-degree murder and obstructing the investigation by the law enforcement agencies.

During his trial in September last year, prosecutors informed jurors about Colby Trickle’s sex doll purchase. That’s when his mother, Tina Kreutzer, revealed that her son purchased the doll for warmth and comfort, and not for sex.

She also said that Colby Trickle was battling nightmares and had trouble sleeping after his wife’s death and hence, he had purchased the doll.

But Kristen Trickle’s uncle, Brant Rice, reacted to her statements and said, “(I am) disgusted. Just disgusted. We have electric blankets for that.” Subsequently, the jury found Colby Trickle guilty.

In November last year, Colby Trickle was sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 50 years, as per the CBS News report.