A 44-year-old Denver man who allegedly shot his wife and then claimed she committed suicide has been charged with first-degree murder.
Cain Wilkens is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Clarissa Wilkens, 30, in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, according to a news release Monday by Denver District Attorney Beth McCann.
Wilkens allegedly shot his wife following a birthday party at their residence in the 1500 block of S. Albion Street. Wilkens’ birthday actually was Jan. 28.
At 3:19 a.m. on Jan. 21, a woman called 911 saying that a man just ran into the apartment manager’s office screaming that his wife just shot herself, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police arrived at the apartment at 3:26 a.m. and found Clarissa Wilkens’ body in the bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A police officer spoke with a man who lived directly above the Wilkens’ apartment. He said he heard a woman scream, “No, no, no.”
He then heard a man yelling, “Get back here,” numerous times.
Police took Wilkens to police headquarters and interviewed him. He said he and his wife had hosted a birthday party attended by several friends. “He said everyone had a good time,” the affidavit says.
After the party he was in the living room when he heard a pop and recognized it as a gunshot. He found his wife bleeding on the bedroom floor. He picked her up and held her momentarily before running to the manager’s office, he said in a taped interview.
Wilkens denied seeing the gun. He made several suicidal statements and was placed on a voluntary mental health hold.
When homicide Detective Joe Vasquez returned to the home with a search warrant he found signs of a scuffle including a broken picture frame in another bedroom. A fan and laundry basket were tipped over.
Detectives found a loaded 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun in a safe that was closed but not locked. There appeared to be blood on the gun. Clarissa Wilkens appeared to have a bullet wound in the back of her head.
An unloaded 40-caliber handgun was found just outside the safe. A spent 9mm shell casing was discovered near the victim. There were no blood stains on the victim. There was no soot on the victim’s head, indicating that the gunshot was not a contact wound, which is common in suicides.
Police interviewed Wilkens a second time the following day. He again told police his wife shot herself.
He also said he didn’t know how the 9mm handgun, the only one in working order in the house, could have ended up in a closed safe with blood on it. He also denied yelling, “Get back here.”