By Staff Reports
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — A
former Colorado sheriff’s deputy indicted this week in the murder of his wife
was arrested Tuesday morning in Bloomington, police officials confirm.
34-year-old Tom Fallis was
arrested around 8:30 a.m. at his home on Laurelwood Drive. Neighbors say he
moved in about two years ago, with his three children.
Fallis’ wife, 28-year-old
Ashley, died in 2012 in Evans, Colorado, about an hour north of Denver.
Officials say her death was initially ruled a suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot
wound. In April, police decided to re-open the case after they learned of new
evidence, including a statement from the couple’s daughter saying she’d seen
her father shoot her mother.
Her family has maintained from
the beginning Ashley’s death was not a suicide. At an April news conference,
they said statements from key witnesses were omitted or changed from the
original police report.
“We keep continuing to believe,
and have always believed that at one time the truth would come forth, and that
time is now,” said one of Ashley’s family members at that April press
conference.
A Colorado grand jury indicted
Fallis on a second-degree murder charge Monday.
The indictment states Tom and
Ashley Fallis argued at a New Year’s party they hosted, saying Tom Fallis was
angry Ashley was going to smoke. It states Tom Fallis then got a gun, and
during a struggle, shot Ashley, then called 911 to report she had shot herself
in the head.
Tom Fallis declined an
interview from the Monroe County Jail Tuesday, but his lawyer released this
statement:
Mr. Fallis is innocent. He
deeply loves his wife and did not kill her.
It is understandable that a parent may not want to accept that their
child has taken her own life. Mr. Fallis grieves every day about his wife’s
suicide. The truth will come out in the courtroom, not in what a biased news
source decides to report.
The District Attorney has the
absolute power to charge Mr. Fallis, but they did not. They left this difficult
decision up to a grand jury who makes determinations based upon the District
Attorney’s presentation of one-sided evidence. The accused is not present and
cannot challenge any evidence presented.
—Iris Eytan, Attorney for Tom
Fallis
Bloomington Police arrested
Fallis Tuesday morning without incident, after his three children went to
school.
Captain Joe Qualters with
Bloomington Police Department told 24-Hour News 8 the department was aware of
the situation in Colorado, and had been asked to conduct two welfare checks on
the children since April by Colorado authorities.
“We did not find anything on
either visit there. We were aware this individual was in our community. We
really at this point have no idea what made him choose Bloomington as a place
to stay once he left Colorado,” said Qualters.
Qualters says they’re not sure
what job Fallis held in Bloomington. Our news partners at the Herald-Times
report Fallis told a judge Tuesday he was supporting his children with his
deceased wife’s Social Security death benefits meant for them.
“The parents of the young woman
that died are very happy with the beginnings of justice in their mind. They
have tried for three agonizing years to show their daughter did not commit
suicide, but in fact was murdered by her husband,” said Colorado attorney Dan
Recht, who represents Ashley’s family.
Recht said Ashley’s parents
were coming to Indiana to care for the children and bring them back to
Colorado.
