On August 23, 2009, 19-year-old Misty Lamoreaux, a female resident of Cedar City, Utah, was found dead in the bathroom of her apartment. The scene was initially perplexing, with a lit cigarette and a lighter in her hand, suggesting a moment of calm abruptly ended. However, the tragic reality of the situation was quickly revealed by an autopsy, which determined that she had sustained five gunshot wounds to the head.
Any one of these wounds would have been fatal.
The primary suspect in her death was her 24-year-old husband, Tristan Jared Lamoreaux. He was apprehended by police near their apartment complex after a brief chase on foot. Following his arrest, Tristan was charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer. He initially presented a narrative of a tragic accident, claiming that his wife had been distraught and had taken a loaded gun from under a pillow with the intention of ending her own life. He asserted that in his attempt to wrestle the firearm away from her, it discharged multiple times, leading to her death.
This account was met with skepticism by investigators, and the evidence painted a much grimmer picture. A neighbor in an adjoining apartment testified to hearing screams followed by several gunshots, one of which penetrated the shared wall and entered her own residence, prompting her to call 911. Prosecutors noted that Tristan never provided a clear motive for the crime. Ultimately, on January 26, 2011, Tristan Lamoreaux pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in a plea agreement that saw the other charges against him dropped. He was subsequently sentenced to a term of 15 years to life in prison for the murder of his wife.
