Ronald Lowry killed Richelle Lowry and tried to make the shooting look self-inflicted, prosecutors say.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A grand jury has indicted Ronald Elton Lowry on murder and related charges in the October 2023 death of his estranged wife, Richelle Lowry, after prosecutors said a two-year investigation found evidence that the shooting in her Bennett home was staged as a suicide.

The indictment shifts the case from a death clouded by uncertainty to a homicide prosecution built on forensic review, digital records and witness statements. Lowry, 52, was charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, two counts of stalking, tampering with physical evidence and two crime-of-violence counts. Prosecutors say the evidence shows planning, jealousy and an effort to shape how Richelle Lowry’s death would be understood.

Investigators began with a welfare check on Oct. 26, 2023, after Richelle Lowry did not show up for work and could not be reached. Deputies went to her home in Bennett, about 30 miles east of Denver, and forced entry after getting no response. Inside, they found her dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. Her cellphone, investigators later said, had been submerged in water. The district attorney’s office said the death was not immediately resolved as a homicide case, and the investigation widened over time as detectives worked through competing possibilities. When the indictment was announced, District Attorney Amy Padden said it marked “an important step in the pursuit of justice for Richelle Lowry.”

The charging theory rests on far more than the scene itself. Prosecutors say Ronald Lowry was angry over the end of the marriage and Richelle Lowry’s new relationship. Court records described by local media say he searched for the other man’s name and workplace and had deleted video showing Richelle Lowry and the man together at a golf course. Investigators also said Ronald Lowry still had access to the garage at the home even after moving out. That detail mattered because it suggested he remained able to come and go from the property during a tense period in the divorce. Public records do not fully describe every moment leading to the shooting, but prosecutors say the pattern of conduct helped establish both motive and opportunity.

The case also gained strength through later technical review. Local reporting on the affidavit said home surveillance captured a person in dark clothing near the house two days before the body was found, after which the camera system stopped recording. Investigators later concluded the system likely had been manually disabled, not interrupted by a simple malfunction. Phone records also placed Ronald Lowry near the home multiple times in the weeks before Richelle Lowry’s death, according to authorities. He told investigators he had gone to the house the night before her body was found to pick up their dog, but detectives later challenged parts of that explanation. Those issues did not by themselves resolve the case, but prosecutors say they became key pieces in a larger timeline.

Autopsy and lab findings added another layer. Local media reports on the case said Richelle Lowry had a close-range gunshot wound, suspicious bruising and a large hematoma on her forehead. Male DNA was reported on two swabs, though the material was described as low quality. The death classification also changed over time. An initial path appeared to point toward homicide, a later final ruling listed the manner as undetermined, and a subsequent review returned the finding to homicide, prompting a new death certificate. That changing paperwork became one reason the case drew outside attention. It showed how investigators and forensic reviewers continued reexamining the evidence rather than treating the matter as closed.

Witness statements gave the prosecution’s case its sharpest emotional edge. Friends and relatives said Richelle Lowry had made clear she would not kill herself. Her brother, Dave Norman, later recalled that she had warned loved ones, “If anything happens to me, look to him.” Another friend told investigators, according to court records cited by local outlets, that Richelle Lowry was “very adamant” she would never take her own life. Prosecutors also said Ronald Lowry could have received more than $1.3 million if her death had been ruled a suicide, adding a financial dimension to the motive theory. Family members, meanwhile, said Richelle Lowry was nearing the end of the divorce and looking ahead to a new chapter.

Ronald Lowry was booked into the Morgan County Jail after the indictment was announced. The case now moves into open court, where prosecutors will begin testing before a judge and, if it proceeds, a jury the evidence they say transformed a disputed death into a deliberate-killing case. The next milestone is a court appearance on the charges stemming from the Oct. 26, 2023, death.

Author note: Last updated March 30, 2026.