Hi-school math teacher shoots & stabs hubby to death,ties up 2 slaves,tries to convince cops an intruder committed the crimes,then kills self 2 days later,in WY
Joe1orbit
Over in Wyoming, a high school math teacher hatched a convoluted plot to
murder her hubby, and actually did succeed in killing him, but her plan to make
the killing look like the work of "home invasion" robbers was VERY poorly
planned out.
This 37 year old teacher, Cheryl Trover, owned 2 slaves, aged 10 and 13, and
she decided to make them an active part of her tactically STUPID plan. Here's
what she did: She tied up both children inside of the house. Then she shot her
43 year old husband in the head and arms, and REPEATEDLY stabbed him as well.
Then she called 911 and said that a hispanic man had forced his way into the
house, killed her hubby, raped her, and tied up the children.
All this occured on Friday. A police investigation quickly resulted in HUGE
holes being poked in Cheryl's story. First of all, even though she did put on a
MASK before tying up her two children, they were easily able to identify her as
the person who tied them up. Of course they were! This math teacher must have
been really STUPID to think that just by putting on a MASK, her 10 year old son
& 13 year old daughter wouldn't RECOGNIZE their own mother. Another HUGE
tactical blunder on our amateur murderess's part was that a COLLECTION of
how-to commit murder BOOKS was found by police, inside of the home.
And so police quickly decided that Cheryl was indeed the murderer. She got
wind of the fact that she WAS about to be arrested on Sinday, two days after
she killed her hubby, and so she grabbed a gun and killed herself, leaving her
slaves as orphans.
No word on any specific motive for this hubby murder, but police say it looks
like Cheryl planned it out for MONTHS in advance, before finally acting on
Friday. Damn, for a high school teacher, you would think this gal would be at
least a LITTLE bit smarter in terms of coming up with a plausible tactical plan
to kill hubby & make it look like someone else was the murderer.
The two slaves, despite being tied up by their Mommy, were not physically
hurt in any way. Mommy Cheryl, despite brutally slaughtering her hubby,
apparently had no interest in killing her offspring, and in fact tied them up
with "gentle, motherly care", being careful not to even inflict any rope burns
as she carefully tied up the slaves as part of her HORRIBLY poor attempt to get
away with murder.
Take care, JOE
The following two news articles both appear courtesy of today's Associated
Press news wire:
Teacher Kills Husband, Then Herself
GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) -- A high school math teacher who claimed a masked intruder
killed her husband, raped her and tied up her children committed suicide when
investigators began to realize she had staged the attack.
Investigators said they are unsure of a motive but are certain that Cheryl
Trover killed her husband Friday. She shot herself on Sunday.
Among the clues that led police to doubt her story: Her children identified
their mother as the masked person who tied them up, and authorities found
how-to books on murder in her home.
``I think she'd been planning this for months, possibly six months,'' police
Chief Ric Paul said Tuesday.
Mrs. Trover, 37, told authorities a Hispanic man wearing a ski mask had forced
his way into the home, killed her husband and attacked her. Mrs. Trover, whose
injuries appeared consistent with her claims of rape and assault, said the man
set her vehicle on fire and ran off.
John Trover, 43, was shot in the head and arm and stabbed repeatedly.
Her story set off a huge manhunt.
Paul said when the couple's two children were tied up, they ``thought their
mother was playing a game with them.''
The children, a 13-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, were unhurt. Their feet
and hands were bound, but ``tied with care,'' he said.
A gun believed used in the slaying was found in a house across the street. Mrs.
Trover had a key to the home, whose owner was out of town.
AP-NY-12-08-98
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Wife apparently shoots husband, fakes abduction, shoots self
GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) - The wife of a murder victim shot herself, and
investigators now believe she killed her husband and staged an elaborate plan
to mislead investigators, police said today.
Cheryl Trover, a 37-year-old school teacher, died of a self-inflicted gunshot
wound Sunday afternoon, according to Campbell County Sheriff Byron Oedekoven.
Police at first thought they were dealing with a murder-kidnap case, but Mrs.
Trover's suicide leads investigators to believe she killed John Trover, 43, and
then mislead police by staging her kidnapping.
"Our investigation reveals without a doubt that Cheryl Trover killed her
husband," Police Chief Ric Paul said.
There were no other suspects in the case.
The body of John Trover was found in the lower living area of his Gillette home
on Saturday. Mrs. Trover told authorities a man had forced his way into their
home, killed her husband and kidnapped her. Mrs. Trover said she later escaped
with no major injuries.
The couple's two children, believed to be about 10 and 13, were found tied up
in an upstairs bedroom of their home in a newer, upper class subdivision but
were not injured.
Police say the children recognized the person who tied them up as their mother.
The kids "thought their mother was playing a game with them. they were
concerned but they weren't signifcantly alarmed by what was going on," Paul
said.
An autopsy performed in Cheyenne Sunday morning revealed that Trover was shot
in the head and arm and stabbed multiple times. He died from loss of blood,
Paul said. Trover worked as an accountant for a Cyprus-AMAX coal mine.
Mrs. Trover described the perpetrator as Hispanic, in his 30s, 40s or 50s, 6
feet tall, wearing Carhart coveralls, cowboy boots and a dark ski mask.
Paul said the clothing she described was later found in the partially burned
vehicle.
Paul said that Mrs. Trover stated "that they were getting ready to go to the
bedroom shortly after 10:30 Friday night when they heard a knock at the door."
"Her husband went to answer the door and was confronted by a male," Paul said.
"The male started into an aggressive conversation about situations she
indicated were related to the mine and from there it escalated into a violent
situation which resulted in John's death."
She had said the man and her husband may have been acquainted through Trover's
job at the mine.
The intruder then tied Mrs. Trover's hands and feet and placed her in the
family's small pickup truck and drove south of Gillette, where he set the
vehicle on fire after she scrambled out.
"She told us that she was able to get out of the passenger side and was able to
get down off the road to where there was a culvert and hid there," said Paul.
The suspect made no effort to chase her, he said.
Two people on their way to work discovered the burning truck about 5:20 a.m.
Saturday and heard the woman's voice from down below the roadway, then called
for help on a cellular phone, Paul said. An air and ground search was initiated
but failed to find anyone.
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The following appears courtesy of the 12/8/98 online edition of The KVLR-TV,
local NBC-TV affiliate station in billings, Montana:
Woman accused of Gillette murder, commits suicide
GILLETTE
A Gillette woman who claimed a man killed her husband and abducted her last
weekend committed suicide Sunday, shortly after she became the focus of the
investigation. Authorities questioned Cheryl Trover about the crime Sunday
afternoon. She killed herself at a friend’s house south of Gillette about 4p.m.
Gillette police say there are no other suspects in the case. A 22-caliber
handgun found at a neighbor’s house had blood on it, and test results are
pending. Mrs. Trover had a key to the house. In addition, clothes found in the
Trovers’ truck matched those supposedly worn by Mrs. Trover’s kidnapper. Mrs.
Trover said she escaped with her hands and feet tied shortly before her
kidnapper set the truck on fire about 5 o’clock Saturday morning. The evidence
survived the fire.
Mrs. Trover said she hid in a culvert while her kidnapper escaped on foot.
Two people came upon the burning truck and found the woman. Authorities say
John Trover was shot in the head and body and was stabbed in the neck sometime
Friday night. The couple’s two children, ten and 13 years old, were found tied
up in a room in the house but were not injured. The children reportedly told
authorities they believe they were tied up by their mother, who was wearing a
mask. Mrs. Trover reported she was sexually assaulted, but police say there is
no evidence.
