WESTMINSTER, Colo.—A man wanted in the slaying death of his ex-wife in Colorado is in custody in Texas, authorities said.
Authorities say Richard Paul Stewart was arrested by a game warden who said he noticed him swerving from lane to lane on U.S. 84 in West Texas on Tuesday. The warden stopped him and arrested him after learning he had an outstanding arrest warrant for an alleged assault in Mecklenburg, N.C.
Stewart, who’s from Independence, Mo., was later hospitalized because authorities say he appeared confused and was having trouble staying conscious. His hospital room in Lubbock, was being guarded Wednesday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said.
His ex-wife, 71-year-old Norma Stewart, was found shot in the head in her office in the Denver suburb of Westminster on Monday just before it opened for the day. Adams County Chief Deputy Coroner Sherronda Appleberry said Wednesday that she died in an apparent homicide.
Stewart was first taken to a hospital in Littlefield, Texas and then transferred to an intensive care unit at University Medical Center in Lubbock about 35 miles away.
Texas Parks said the warden who arrested him, Lance May, learned about a first-degree murder and domestic violence warrant issued for Stewart in connection with his ex-wife’s death in Colorado after he was transferred to Lubbock.
Westminster police spokesman Trevor Materasso said Stewart was a suspect in the slaying but declined to elaborate.
Authorities didn’t release any details about the alleged assault case in North Carolina.
