Kansas Man’s Unusual Spending After Wife’s Death: Life Insurance Payout and a Life-size Sex Doll

In 2019, Colby Trickle, a resident of Hays, Kansas, called 911 to report that his wife had shot herself. Even though police officer Sergeant Brandon Hauptman of the Hays Police Department was skeptical upon arriving at the crime site, Colby Trickle was released because the coroner, Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, ruled Kristen Trickle’s death as suicide.

Police continued to investigate if Colby Trickle was responsible for his wife’s death. Months later, Colby Trickle cashed in on two life insurance policies on his wife for more than $120,000, spending over $2,000 on a life-size sex doll two days after receiving the payout. His unexpected purchase raised questions.

Detectives noted that Colby Trickle did not appear to be in sorrow following his wife’s death. “There’s a mourning process that I think everyone needs — should go through when a loved one dies — and to have him ordering this type of doll just months after his wife’s death was concerning,” Detective Joshua “JB” Burkholder told CBS News.

The killing and inquiry that led to Colby Trickle’s arrest in 2023 were also explored in the docuseries Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind.

Detectives did not arrest Colby Trickle based solely on their allegations. They discovered that Colby, a member of the United States Army Reserve, lied about his tours of Central America and West Asia. When they contacted the US Army, they learned that Colby had never been sent overseas.

Law enforcement officers who spent two years preparing the case against Colby were also concerned about the size of the gun and the clothes his wife Kristen was wearing at the time of her alleged suicide.

“I was appalled that he would spend Kristen’s life insurance money on a sex doll.” CBS News described Kristen Trickle’s aunt, Delynn Rice, as stating, “It was as if he bought her replacement using her money.”

Assistant Ellis County Attorney Aaron Cunningham told the newspaper that the $120,000 in insurance money was spent in around eight months. Colby paid off debts, spent hundreds of dollars on computer games, and purchased music equipment in preparation for his future career as a musician.