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PROVO — Conrad Truman was a man in love.
He and his wife, Heidy, left sticky notes throughout their house expressing their love for each other, according to Conrad Truman's sister, Colette Dahl. Heidy Truman wrote “I love you” in permanent marker on a white board in their home, Dahl said.
In fact, Conrad Truman wore his wedding ring up until the day he was arrested in connection with Heidy's death.
“They were very much in love,” Dahl said Monday after a hearing in 4th District Court, adding that there was another side to the story of the man accused of shooting and killing his wife.
Conrad Mark Truman, 31, is charged with murder, a first-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
During Monday's hearing, it was determined that Conrad Truman will again face Judge Samuel McVey for a preliminary hearing Dec. 6.
Police arrested Conrad Truman in July, almost 10 months after his wife was shot in the head with a black Sig Sauer .380.
Officers found Heidy Truman's body at the top the stairs in the couple's Orem home on Sept. 20, 2012.
Conrad Truman gave multiple accounts of the evening’s events that were not consistent through the investigation, and he did not cooperate with investigators, according to charging documents. He was unresponsive to police phone calls, once for a period of seven months, and walked away when officers came to his work, court documents state.
“You have questions. Well, they can wait until I’m ready,” prosecutors said he told police.
Conrad Truman originally told investigators he and his wife were drinking on the night of the shooting and talked but did not argue. She then left to take a shower, he told police.
He said he heard a popping sound by the bathroom, according to court documents. He initially said he was in the kitchen making a sandwich and later said he was watching TV in the living room, charges state.
A medical examiner said Heidy Truman could not have walked the 12 feet between the bathroom and the top of the stairs having received a direct, single shot to the head.
Conrad Truman told a victim advocate he thought his wife had been murdered.
He said he heard someone yelling outside his house before the gun went off and saw a man who appeared to be talking to himself, charging documents state. He also told his brother-in-law that a black man came into the house and then ran out after Heidy Truman was shot, according to the charges.
Conrad Truman said multiple times that the bullet could have come in through the bathroom window or shower wall, but physical evidence did not support this explanation, prosecutors said.
In a later conversation, Conrad Truman said the shooting was an accident, and he also gave several explanations of motivations for suicide, court documents state.
In an earlier hearing, Judge McVey denied a request for a reduction in bail, saying Truman Conrad was a threat to the public and was accused of mixing alcohol and guns.
“That is a deadly combination,” he said.
Money was Conrad Truman’s “primary motive” in killing his wife, police and prosecutors said in charging documents. Life insurance policies taken out in Heidy's name and other benefits would have set Conrad Truman to receive $878,767 in the event of his wife’s death, even though she only made $43,000 annually, court documents said.
Dahl said she understood that Heidy Truman’s family is in pain, which she said was their motivation in prosecuting her brother. However, she said, she believes in her brother’s innocence.
“It’s very difficult because we know my brother and his character,” she said.
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