Thom v. State

On the evening of September 17, 1988, Appellant and his wife, Kristina, went to the Beacon Club in Casper, Wyoming, to celebrate a friends birthday. After Appellant and Kristina consumed a disputed amount of alcohol, Appellant became upset with Kristina and decided to walk home. Kristina and her friend, Penny Sutton, remained at the bar for about twenty minutes and then drove to Kristinas and Appellants home. Because she feared ramifications from her earlier dispute with Appellant, Kristina decided to take their two children and her child from a previous marriage to Ms. Suttons house. Appellant arrived at the residence to find Ms. Sutton and the three children in a pickup, which had its doors locked and its engine running. Kristina had gone back into the house to get clothes for the children. After Appellant tried to open a locked door of the pickup, he removed one of his cowboy boots and used it to break out the window of the door on the drivers side. Appellant took the key to the ignition, went to his semi-truck, and retrieved his Ruger .44 magnum caliber revolver. He went into the house and found Kristina in one of the childrens bedrooms. Kristina testified that Appellant pointed the gun at her chest and threatened to kill her. When he glanced away, Kristina rushed Appellant, and the gun fell to the floor. They struggled in a hallway and eventually ended up in another bedroom. Appellant pinned Kristina down on a bed until she managed to strike him with a lamp and escape his grasp. Appellant retrieved the gun once again and, according to Kristina, pointed it at her chest and said, "`Im going to kill you. Im going to go get the kids. Im going to kill them. Then Im going to kill myself." - Page 194