A Denver man arrested last month in connection with the death of his wife carried on an affair in the month before he strangled her and then collected a $750,000 life insurance policy as a Denver police detective pursued a murder investigation, according to an arrest affidavit.
Robert Wayne Feldman, 53, allegedly strangled his wife in the couple’s bathroom while his children were at school on March 1, 2015, the arrest affidavit said. Feldman faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of his wife, 45-year-old Stacy Feldman. He is being held without bond in the Downtown Detention Center.
The arrest affidavit, which was unsealed Monday, reads like a true crime television script. It reveals details about a nearly two-year investigation by a Denver Police Department detective who solved the case through an anonymous letter, a medical examiner who specializes in strangulation, a psychological analysis on a 911 call and phone records.
From the beginning, Detective Randal Denison suspected Feldman because of his behavior when police first were called to the death scene, the affidavit said. At first, Feldman was acting as if he was in shock or confused, saying he could not remember the details of how he found his wife. Feldman walked away from the detective, giving “the impression he was over acting in an effort to avoid speaking with him.”
Denver firefighters at the scene also noticed the strange behavior, telling the detective that Feldman was purposely not cooperative. One firefighter noted, “the husband was acting extremely hysterical, yelling and wailing and getting so close to the patient he interfered with their duties and they had to request police assistance,” the affidavit said.
Feldman had called 911 for help, telling an operator that he had found his wife unresponsive in the shower. At the scene, he told police and medical responders that his wife had a history of medical problems and took medication. He also said she had consumed alcohol and marijuana edibles at a party the previous night and had not felt well because of that, the affidavit said.
Feldman told the detective he had attended a church carnival with his children and they had gotten home around 3 p.m. when he found his wife in the bathtub with cold water running, the affidavit said.
Soon, though, the detective found holes in Feldman’s story.
The autopsy found numerous injuries on Stacy Feldman’s body and a toxicology report did not show any THC in Stacy Feldman’s system even though her husband said she had used marijuana the night before her death, the affidavit said.
And while the coroner did not make an official determination on her cause of death, Stacy Feldman’s sister told the detective that Robert Feldman had told the family it had been ruled an accident because Stacy Feldman had slipped on conditioner while in the shower and had drowned, the affidavit said.
Days later, the detective received an anonymous letter that pointed out discrepancies in Robert Feldman’s story and provided potential sources for the case.
After talking with a neighbor and school administrators, the detective learned that the Feldman children had been left after-hours at school. A school administrator said she took the children to the school’s carnival after neither parent answered their phones, the affidavit said.
When Robert Feldman picked up his children nearly an hour after classes ended he appeared disheveled, wearing gym shorts, a sweater and tennis shoes even though it was cold outside, the affidavit said. Meanwhile, the neighbor told the detective she and Stacy Feldman had planned on meeting at the carnival but that her friend never showed up and did not answer text messages asking where she was.
More evidence was uncovered through a Crimestoppers tip from a woman who called to report that she had sex with Robert Feldman after meeting him on Tinder, the affidavit said. The woman told the detective that Robert Feldman told her his last name was “Wolfe” and that he was divorced.
The two had sex, but Robert Feldman later ignored the woman’s messages, the affidavit said. The woman researched him online and figured out his real name, address and wife’s name.
On March 1 — the day Stacy Feldman died — the woman sent an email to ask if Stacy Feldman was divorced. She then forwarded e-mails she and Robert Feldman had exchanged.
“Stacy called her that morning, and she told Stacy about what had occurred between her and Robert,” the affidavit said. “Stacy had told her Robert cheated on her before and that she was ‘done with him.'”
By June 2015, Robert Feldman had collected $750,000 from American General Life Insurance, the affidavit said.
During the investigation, the detective continued to focus on Robert Feldman. During a review of Feldman’s 911 call, the detective, who has been trained to analyze recordings where the caller is a suspect, found numerous “guilty indicators.” He also heard a toilet flush during the call, the affidavit said.
During a June 2016 follow-up visit to Feldman’s house, the detective saw a FedEx truck make a delivery at the house. But when the detective knocked on the door, no one answered even though there was no package outside, indicating that someone was home to receive it, the affidavit said.
By the time the detective returned to his office, Feldman had called the medical examiner’s office to ask if there had been any changes to the autopsy report, the affidavit said.
In October, police and the district attorney’s office hired an outside medical examiner who specializes in domestic violence related strangulation and suffocation. And, in December, the doctor determined that Stacy Feldman had died of strangulation and that injuries on her body were the result of an assault.
He ruled the death a homicide.
