Latest news with #StephenGower
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Police Say Indiana Man Made Odd Comments After Claiming His Wife Died By Suicide: 'She Was Talking to Other Men'
Stephen Gower, 53, called 911 claiming his wife, Christina Gower, shot herself in the head with an AR-15-style rifle, authorities allegeNEED TO KNOW Stephen Gower, 53, of Indiana, called 911 on Aug. 4 claiming his wife, Christina Gower, died by suicide He allegedly told police he found out she had been talking to other men Gower allegedly begged police to "take me to jail" and "shoot me" when they arrived at his house after he called 911An Indiana man called 911 to report that his wife had shot and killed herself with an AR-15 — but now he is charged with murdering her, authorities say. On Aug. 4, police responded to a call from Stephen Gower, 53, of Charlestown, who said his wife Christina Gower had shot and killed herself at their home on Charlestown New Market Road, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE. When officers arrived at the residence, they found Stephen, who allegedly said, 'take me to jail' and 'shoot me,' according to the affidavit. 'It would be easier to go to jail than to explain the incident to his children,' he allegedly told police. Officers located an AR-style rifle which Stephen said his wife used to take her life. Christina was found lying in the doorway to the master bedroom with a fatal wound to the head and blood pooling around her, according to the affidavit, but a detective on the scene did not observe 'visible burns or stippling' to Christina's head or face that would be consistent with a shot from close-range. During an interview with detectives, Stephen said that on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 3, he found messages on his wife's phone 'indicating that she was talking to other men and indicated that she was having an affair,' the affidavit alleges. He said he and his wife drank alcohol and fought all night, to the point where a chair and light fixture were broken. Stephen allegedly admitted to holding his wife's wrist while they were on the kitchen floor and damaging the bathroom door during their 'confrontation,' per the affidavit. Earlier in the evening, he said he retrieved a handgun from the master bedroom and held it to his head at one point, saying he wanted to die by suicide and then saying 'he hoped his wife would pull the trigger,' the affidavit alleges. He also 'mentioned handling an AR-15 rifle' during the evening, which he held to his head, it autopsy performed on Aug. 5, showed that the gunshot appeared to have been fired from 3 feet away or greater, the affidavit alleges, making it impossible for Christina to have shot herself. Stephen was arrested on Aug. 4 and charged with murder, according to online court records. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bond. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 16. His attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Police Say Indiana Man Made Odd Comments After Claiming His Wife Died By Suicide: 'She Was Talking to Other Men'
Stephen Gower, 53, called 911 claiming his wife, Christina Gower, shot herself in the head with an AR-15-style rifle, authorities allegeNEED TO KNOW Stephen Gower, 53, of Indiana, called 911 on Aug. 4 claiming his wife, Christina Gower, died by suicide He allegedly told police he found out she had been talking to other men Gower allegedly begged police to "take me to jail" and "shoot me" when they arrived at his house after he called 911An Indiana man called 911 to report that his wife had shot and killed herself with an AR-15 — but now he is charged with murdering her, authorities say. On Aug. 4, police responded to a call from Stephen Gower, 53, of Charlestown, who said his wife Christina Gower had shot and killed herself at their home on Charlestown New Market Road, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE. When officers arrived at the residence, they found Stephen, who allegedly said, 'take me to jail' and 'shoot me,' according to the affidavit. 'It would be easier to go to jail than to explain the incident to his children,' he allegedly told police. Officers located an AR-style rifle which Stephen said his wife used to take her life. Christina was found lying in the doorway to the master bedroom with a fatal wound to the head and blood pooling around her, according to the affidavit, but a detective on the scene did not observe 'visible burns or stippling' to Christina's head or face that would be consistent with a shot from close-range. During an interview with detectives, Stephen said that on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 3, he found messages on his wife's phone 'indicating that she was talking to other men and indicated that she was having an affair,' the affidavit alleges. He said he and his wife drank alcohol and fought all night, to the point where a chair and light fixture were broken. Stephen allegedly admitted to holding his wife's wrist while they were on the kitchen floor and damaging the bathroom door during their 'confrontation,' per the affidavit. Earlier in the evening, he said he retrieved a handgun from the master bedroom and held it to his head at one point, saying he wanted to die by suicide and then saying 'he hoped his wife would pull the trigger,' the affidavit alleges. He also 'mentioned handling an AR-15 rifle' during the evening, which he held to his head, it autopsy performed on Aug. 5, showed that the gunshot appeared to have been fired from 3 feet away or greater, the affidavit alleges, making it impossible for Christina to have shot herself. Stephen was arrested on Aug. 4 and charged with murder, according to online court records. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bond. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 16. His attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
International Business Times
09-08-2025
- International Business Times
Southern Indiana Man Kills Wife After Learning About Her Affair, Then Tells Cops She Committed Suicide
A Charlestown, Indiana, man has been charged with killing his wife days after he told police she had shot herself in the head. According to court documents, 53-year-old Stephen Gower fatally shot his wife, Christina Gower, at their Charlestown home on Aug. 4. Investigators Found No Evidence to Support the Suicide Claim Officers with the Clark County Sheriff's Office and the Charlestown Police Department responded to the home in the 10400 block of Charlestown New Market Road after Stephen told the dispatcher that his wife had committed suicide. Despite initially telling officers she had shot herself, police said he asked police to "take me to jail" and "shoot me" while at the scene. Stephen Gower told investigators the gun used was a short barrel AR-style rifle, which was located by responding officers. Christina Gower's body was found inside the home "lying on the floor face up with significant blood pooling around the head." Police said she was half inside the master bedroom and half inside the hallway that connected to the kitchen/living room area. She had been shot in the head, but a detective at the scene "did not observe visible burns or stippling to Christina's head or face that would be consistent with a close shot or contact shot to the head." Stephen Told Cops He Found Messages on Christina's Phone Revealing Her 'Affair' on the Day of Her Death As officers began questioning Stephen Gower, he told them that on the morning of Aug. 3, he had "found messages on Christina's phone indicating that she was talking to other men and indicated she was having an affair." Stephen Gower also told detectives that he and his wife "had been consuming alcohol throughout the evening leading up to the early morning shootings." He also described a "series of escalating events, including verbal arguments and physical actions, such as breaking a chair and a light fixture in the spare bedroom." Stephen Gower did admit to "holding his wife's wrist while they were on the kitchen floor to hold her down but denied any physical altercation beyond that." During the arguments that led up to the fatal shooting, Stephen Gower said he got a handgun from the bedroom and placed it next to his head and said he wanted to kill himself and said "he had hoped his wife would pull the trigger." That gun was returned to the bedroom before he retrieved the rifle later in the evening. He said he also placed the rifle to his head as well, but "Christina was crawling around the residence due to intoxication." Stephen Gower told officers he had asked to be arrested because he "he believed it would be easier to go to jail than to explain the incident to his children and his wife's family." Autopsy Confirmed Christina was Shot from Several Feet Away, Could not Have Shot Herself A medical examiner performed an autopsy and determined the gunshot appeared to have been from several feet away or more and concluded that "Christina could not have self-inflicted a gunshot wound to herself from that distance." Stephen Gower remains jailed at the Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville. He is scheduled in court Aug. 11.
