A Colorado man faces serious charges in connection with the death of his estranged wife, whose autopsy revealed “suspicious” bruises on her body.

Ronald Elton Lowry, 52, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Richelle Lowry, as announced in a press release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. In addition to the murder charge, Lowry is also facing two counts of stalking and tampering with physical evidence. Further charges include causing serious bodily injury or death through a crime of violence and the use of a deadly weapon.

Lowry was taken into custody and booked at the Morgan County Jail on February 27. At this time, it is not clear whether he has entered a plea.

Initially, Richelle’s death raised suspicions of suicide, but it has since been reclassified as a homicide, according to the press release.

On October 26, 2023, police conducted a welfare check on Richelle after she failed to appear for work. Ronald, who was in the process of divorcing Richelle, had also requested a welfare check, reportedly because he no longer had access to her residence, as stated in a grand jury indictment obtained by Oxygen.

The police discovered Richelle lying face-down on her bathroom floor, deceased from a gunshot wound to the head. A handgun was found beneath her right shoulder, her arms were folded under her body, and her cellphone was partially submerged in a bowl of water, according to the indictment.

Elsewhere according to the indictment, police found a note from Ronald to Richelle, dated Sept. 2023 which allegedly indicated that he still loved her.

An autopsy mentioned in the affidavit stated that Richelle died from a “close range” gunshot wound to the head and there was “suspicious” bruising on her body and a large hematoma on her forehead.

Meanwhile, a neighbor, who was cited in the indictment, claimed Richelle had expressed being scared for her life and told her, “If anything happened to her, Ronald would be responsible.” The neighbor said that Richelle was “very adamant” that she was not suicidal, a sentiment with which Richelle’s parents agreed, per the indictment.  

However, Ronald allegedly told neighbors she had died by suicide, according to the indictment.  “Ronald then accessed his cell phone,” a neighbor shared, “and started offering proof of his whereabouts at specific dates and times.”

Richelle’s parents also told police that Richelle had been dating someone new, according to the doc. Ronald claimed that he didn’t know about Richelle’s new relationship until Oct. 26—the day her body was found—however, text messages from earlier that month suggested otherwise. 

When police downloaded the contents of Ronald’s phone, they found videos recorded in October 2023, depicting Richelle and her boyfriend at a golf course. 

In text messages quoted in the indictment, Ronald allegedly told another individual that Richelle had been seeing the man “behind my back.” The indictment also quoted a note, allegedly from his phone in which he called Richelle a narcissist and a “manipulative lying, cheating person.” 

According to security footage from Richelle’s home that was recorded on Oct. 24, an unknown man was seen walking around outside, police noted in the indictment. The man was wearing a hat that looked similar to one shown in a photo on Ronald’s phone. 
An attorney for Ronald could not be located by Oxygen.