Colorado Springs – A man who shot and killed his 60-year-old hostage and then fatally shot himself called Colorado Springs police two hours before the shootings and said: “I’m the guy that you guys are looking for.”
Indeed, police were looking for Barnell Stidham, 38, a suspect in a sexual assault that happened about 2:40 p.m. Thursday.
“It was a stranger situation,” said Colorado Springs police Lt. Rafael Cintron. “He had actually broken into the victim’s townhome and was waiting for her to return from work.”
The 26-year-old woman was sexually assaulted. She was treated and released at a Colorado Springs hospital and was able to provide information that helped police identify the suspect.
After the sexual assault, Stidham arrived at the home of his friend, Della Paulson, 60, who lived in an apartment on the city’s northwest side.
When Stidham called police, he had already taken Paulson hostage, Cintron said.
“Initially, an officer arrived at the address, and as the officer attempted to make contact, the officer heard a shot fired,” Cintron said. “They backed off and established a perimeter.”
Police banged on apartment doors, telling residents to get out immediately. Dozens of residents left, some in their bare feet, and waited for hours to return to their homes.
Police negotiators tried to talk to Stidham via cellphone, but lost contact.
“The negotiations had deteriorated. He had made numerous threats that he was going to take her life and take his life, and we felt that her life was in imminent danger and at that time we decided to conduct a hostage rescue,” Cintron said.
About 6 p.m., a SWAT team used a “stun grenade,” which creates a loud bang and a loud flash, to gain entry into the apartment, which had been locked and barricaded with furniture. By the time the officers got inside, Paulson and Stidham had been shot. Police found their bodies in a back room.
Cintron said police believe that Stidham was distraught over a failed relationship.
Stidham was convicted in 1997 of robbing a Dairy Queen restaurant in Colorado Springs. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He arrived at the Department of Corrections in July 1998. He was paroled in November, but by Aug. 1, DOC considered Stidham an “absconder,” according to an agency spokeswoman.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
