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ORANGEVILLE, Emery County — An Orangeville man suspected in his wife's death killed himself after being released from the hospital.
He had been in the hospital for a self-inflicted gunshot wound he received after deputies came to his house and discovered his wife was dead.
The body of Richard Maxwell, 55, was found about 4 p.m. Monday when deputies were called to check on him at the home where he had been staying since his release, according to a release from the Emery County Sheriff's Office.
Maxwell died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, police said.
Police called Maxwell "the only person of interest in the death of his wife," Kristi Price Maxwell, who was found dead July 17. Asked why Maxwell wasn't taken into police custody when he was released from the hospital, a spokeswoman for the Emery County Sheriff's Office said all questions must be directed to Emery County Attorney Michael D. Olsen, who was out of the office until Tuesday.
Police had refused to release any details about the case, including the couple's names, since they first reported Kristi Maxwell's death, instructing media in a prepared statement not to contact them with additional questions or requests for information. Olsen denied a public records request from the Deseret News asking for basic information about the death, claiming that the sheriff's reports were protected records.
Neighbors identified the couple, remembering Kristi Maxwell, 47, as a generous and friendly woman who loved helping others.
A daughter of Kristi Maxwell had called and asked police to accompany her to the Maxwell home on July 17 after she had been unable to contact her mother that day, according to the release Monday.
No one answered and other family members arrived with a key. Once inside, the sheriff's deputy and the family found Richard Maxwell inside pointing a gun at himself, the release states.
As the deputy took the family members out of the home, a single gunshot was heard.
After additional officers arrived and attempted to convince Maxwell to come out, they eventually forced entry into the home where they found the man with a self-inflicted gunshot to the torso, police said. He survived and was hospitalized.
As officers searched the home, they found the body of Kristi Maxwell, who appeared to have been dead for several hours, according to the release. Investigators have not said how she died.
Richard Maxwell was discharged from the hospital "three or four days ago," the release indicated. No criminal charges had been filed against him.
