A Wisconsin man claimed that after telling his wife he was leaving her, she shot herself in the chest while holding a gun in both hands, but authorities did not believe him.
According to a criminal complaint, the widower, James C. Radford, now 39, is accused of shooting and killing Sabrina Radford, 25, while she was holding a phone, and fabricating a story about her alleged “suicide” as well as him performing CPR.
From the complaint:
Complainant further alleges that when law enforcement arrived on April 11, 2016, items of clothing and other things were thrown on the floor in an upstairs bedroom. The complainant believes the defendant had done this because he was mad she was with another man, and SR was leaving.
Radford is charged with first-degree reckless homicide and the use of a dangerous weapon. He was charged on April 11, nine years after allegedly killing Sabrina Radford, but Shawano County deputies confirmed it on Tuesday. Radford is scheduled for a status conference on June 9. Bond was set at $800,000, and he was still behind bars as of Tuesday.
According to the complaint, he called 911 in the early morning hours of April 11, 2016, to report that his wife had been “shot real bad” and that he was performing CPR.
“Law enforcement arrived and observed that there was a substantial amount of blood on the clothes, body and area surrounding SR’s body,” according to the lawsuit. “Law enforcement observed that she had sustained a gunshot wound to her chest and was deceased.”
According to authorities, Radford’s story was not credible. Sabrina Radford allegedly shot herself in the chest while holding the gun in both hands, but the gun, a large.44 caliber handgun, had no blowback material and no blood on the barrel or muzzle, according to authorities.
Although there was a lot of blood on the victim’s clothes and body, her chest was clear when paramedics removed her sweatshirt to perform CPR, according to authorities. That contradicted James Radford’s claim that he had performed CPR before first responders arrived.
Investigators also said they looked into the 911 audio.
From the complaint:
In analyzing the 911 call made by the defendant, at 1 minute and 31 seconds into the phone call, he states “I can’t believe ? (unintelligible) shot her”. Complainant believes he says “I”.
James Radford allegedly acted out of jealousy. A text message from February 16, 2016, showed Sabrina writing “that the defendant was threatening her if she saw another man.”