A soldier on leave from Iraq shot his wife five times and then killed himself in their Larimer County home Wednesday, apparently because their marriage was crumbling, investigators said Friday.
Pfc. Stephen S. Sherwood, 35, used a handgun to shoot his wife, 30-year-old Sara Sherwood, in the head and neck, according to the Larimer County coroner.
Sherwood then used a shotgun to shoot himself in the head.
The incident has officially been termed a murder/suicide. Both victims died within seconds of receiving their wounds.
Neighbors told investigators that Sara Sherwood said she had been in a relationship with another man over the past several weeks. When the couple’s 15-month-old daughter was brought to a neighbor’s house about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sara Sherwood “stated that she and her husband were going to discuss this and other marital issues,” said Larimer County sheriff’s spokeswoman Eloise Campanella.
A neighbor reported to dispatchers that he had heard gunshots from the home, north of Fort Collins, at 3:48 p.m. Deputies arrived shortly thereafter, followed by a SWAT team.
After evacuating the neighborhood and ensuring that there were no more shooters in the area, SWAT team members entered the house and found the couple.
Steve Johnson, who lives next door, said Stephen Sherwood told him there were problems in the marriage. But Sherwood was willing to move to Colorado Springs with his wife since she had just bought a home there.
“He was saying that they were having a hard time, but I didn’t think it was any more than most married couples,” Johnson said. “Apparently, they had some insurmountable issues.”
Sherwood was on leave from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is operating in and around Ramadi, one of the deadliest battlegrounds in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
To date, 68 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade have been killed, including 62 while in action, said Fort Carson spokeswoman Michelle Voeller-Gleason.
Sherwood served in Iraq for about a year, after a three-month stint in South Korea, she said.
Sherwood moved into his home in 1997, and he and Johnson, Sherwood’s neighbor, got along well because both had an interest in music. Sherwood was a member of a heavy-metal band and looked the part, Johnson said.
Johnson said Sherwood had said he joined the Army because he wanted to get medical insurance for his pregnant wife. But life in the military took its toll on the couple, Johnson added.
“It’s not surprising they had troubles, she had been there by herself to raise that little baby,” he said.
The child, Ripley Mae Flom-Sherwood, is now reportedly living with family members. They have declined to comment.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com.
