A Lakewood man who called 911 after finding his wife bloody and unresponsive in the shower last week was arrested on suspicion of murder in her death after his inconsistent story raised red flags with investigators, according to court documents.
Lakewood police officers responded to a home in the 1700 block of South Welch Circle shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday, when Patrick “Ted” Barnett called 911 to report finding his wife unresponsive and not breathing. He told dispatchers that his wife, Lindsey Barnett, had cut herself and her throat, according to his arrest affidavit.
First responders found Lindsey Barnett’s body in the shower, with a large gash along her neck and a 5-inch knife near her, investigators wrote in the affidavit. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators found “a large amount of blood” in the main bedroom of the house, including on the bed, pillows and windowsill, according to the affidavit. A trail of blood ran from the bed to the bathroom, where there was far less blood, investigators said.
Ted Barnett told Lakewood police officers that he had last seen his wife between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, after fighting about that nightap dinner, the affidavit stated. He told police that they had been sleeping in separate bedrooms because of their “relationship issues” over the last few months — he slept in the basement, and she slept in the main bedroom, according to the affidavit.
He said he woke up at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday and went to check on his wife and their two children, according to the affidavit. That’s when he claimed to have found her body.
In an interview with detectives, Ted Barnett said he and Lindsey Barnett had been married for nearly five years. He said his wife had postpartum depression, but didn’t know if she was taking any medication.
“He said they were working on their marriage and he was excited about the prospect of moving back upstairs,” investigators wrote in the affidavit.
Lindsey Barnett’s parents described the pair’s relationship as “troubled” to law enforcement, according to the affidavit. Her mother said Patrick was “verbally abusive and controlling,” and that he had anger issues.
The mother said her daughter had never expressed suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide.
While Ted Barnett initially claimed that there was no infidelity by either him or Lindsey Barnett, a woman claiming to be his girlfriend called dispatchers at 2:46 p.m. Thursday to request a welfare check on the man, police said. She said he was worried he had hurt himself because they hadn’t spoken since 11 p.m. Wednesday.
They met online three months ago, the woman told investigators. She said Ted Barnett had told her he was in the process of divorcing his wife, and that she had no idea Lindsey Barnett was still involved in his life.
Ted Barnett then changed his story, claiming his wife knew about the extramarital relationship and was fine with it, but that they hadn’t told anyone else, according to the affidavit.
The man had several unexplained injuries, including a wound on his thumb and scratches across his arm and chest that were consistent with defensive wounds, police said in the affidavit. Investigators also spotted dried blood on his neck and behind his ear.
His hands were clean of blood, despite his initial claims that he had moved her body in an attempt to save her life, police said. He later changed his order of events to say he had only checked for a pulse, but could not explain the blood behind his ear, according to the affidavit.
As he spoke about finding his wife’s body, Ted Barnett “was audibly sobbing,” but “there were no tears,” police said.
“When told Lindsey died in bed and did not get to the shower on her own, Ted repeated that was where he found her,” investigators wrote in the affidavit. “He claimed to have no knowledge of what happened.”
Lindsey Barnett also had unexplained bruises along her arms, legs, back, hips and hands, according to the affidavit. Her clothes were not blood-soaked, and most of her body was clean of blood, police said.
Ted Barnett was next expected to appear in court Monday afternoon. As of Monday, he had not yet been charged in his wife’s death.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
