HE SAID HIS WIFE DIED BY SUICIDE — BUT DETECTIVES SAY THE BLOOD EVIDENCE TOLD A DIFFERENT STORY

A Colorado mother was found dead inside her home.

Her husband allegedly told police she had taken her own life.

But investigators say what they discovered inside the house raised a very different possibility.

Lindsey Barnett, 37, was found dead on August 13 at the couple’s home in Lakewood, Colorado, with a fatal wound to her throat.

Her husband, 40-year-old Patrick Theodore Barnett, reportedly called 911 around 6 a.m. and claimed Lindsey had cut her own throat.

According to the arrest affidavit, Patrick told investigators that the couple had argued the night before and that he had slept downstairs.

He said he discovered Lindsey bleeding in the shower the following morning.

THEN DETECTIVES LOOKED CLOSER

Investigators reportedly found a substantial amount of blood on the couple’s bed.

A plant had been knocked over.

Dirt appeared to have been tracked toward the bathroom.

And police reported finding a bloody footprint between the bedroom and bathroom.

Another detail reportedly caught investigators’ attention:

There was comparatively little blood inside the bathroom where Patrick claimed he found Lindsey.

Detectives also believed there was evidence suggesting Lindsey’s body had been moved.

THE POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION CLAIM

Patrick allegedly told investigators that Lindsey had been suffering from postpartum depression.

The couple had welcomed their second child in February 2025.

But Lindsey’s mother reportedly gave investigators a different account.

She acknowledged that her daughter had experienced depression in the past, but said she had not recently shown symptoms and had never attempted suicide.

That discrepancy became another point investigators examined.

THEN ANOTHER DETAIL EMERGED

Investigators reportedly learned that Patrick had allegedly been involved in an affair with a woman he met online approximately three months earlier.

According to the woman, Patrick had told her that he and Lindsey were planning to divorce.

The couple’s two young children were reportedly inside the home when Lindsey died.

NOW PATRICK IS FACING A MURDER CASE

Patrick Barnett was arrested and is being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree murder.

The allegations contained in the arrest affidavit have not been proven in court.

But investigators say the evidence inside the home raised serious questions about the original account of what happened.

A husband says his wife died by suicide.

Her family disputes that she was suicidal.

And detectives say the blood patterns, physical evidence and other circumstances point toward a very different possibility.

SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED INSIDE THAT HOUSE BEFORE THE 911 CALL?

That is now the question at the center of the case.

Patrick Barnett is accused of first-degree murder and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.