Man Claims His Edible Marijuana Made Him Kill His Wife, Which Yea, Sure, That Totally Happens

On April 14th, Richard Kirk was arrested for shooting his wife in their Denver home.

Charged with first-degree murder, at the beginning of his trial this week, Kirk’s lawyer’s presented an interesting and (audible guffaw) completely implausible defense for the killing.

Not guilty by reason of eating some marijuana candies beforehand and therefore not responsible for his actions.

Yea. Okay.

Luckily, the trial judge was no shade of stupid and dismissed the argument.

A judge ordered a Denver man on Friday to stand trial in the killing of his wife, who told dispatchers moments before her death that he was paranoid and hallucinating after eating marijuana-infused candy.

Defense attorneys for 48-year-old Richard Kirk suggested during a preliminary hearing that he was so impaired by the pot that he may not have intended to kill his wife.

If he didn’t intend to kill her, he sure didn’t demonstrate it all that well, what with the pulling a gun on her and shooting her in the head.

Judge Elizabeth Starrs said there was enough evidence for a trial on a charge of first-degree murder because Kirk showed he had the wherewithal to remember the code to a locked gun safe and press the weapon to his wife’s head nearly 13 minutes into her call with the 911 dispatcher.

But it’s not necessarily as straightforward as that. Kirk did have THC in system, but his wife called 911 not because he was being murderous, but because he seemed wigged out from the weed.

The detective said the victim, 44-year-old Kristine Kirk, told dispatchers her husband was so impaired after eating the “Karma Kandy Orange Ginger” that he was crawling through a bedroom window and cutting his legs on broken glass.

It was only after she called the authorities that he went for a weapon.

It also, though, could have been an elaborate act, as evidenced by the life insurance policy he had on his wife, the debt they were in, and the fact that their marriage had apparently been on edge of late. From VICE:

According to local news reports from last fall, friends of the couple say Richard began being verbally abusive to Kristine at least six weeks before the shooting. This was around the time he started putting his paychecks in a private account rather than the couple’s joint account. In addition to what friends reported to be a massive amount of credit card debt, a public records search conducted by VICE indicated that Richard had been on the receiving end of three tax liens from the IRS, the last two being issued in 2010. According to a report from CBS last year, a detective testified that Kristine was covered by a $340,000 life insurance policy.

Me think that’s a well-thought out ploy. Blame the marijuana and maybe get off scot-free, single, and swimming in wealth. Fortunately, judges and juries have common sense. Marijuana edibles don’t make anyone that insane.

Regardless, be responsible with your edible usage, kids.