Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Dickinson, ND; 2 dead after apparent murder-suicide


Police say a Dickinson man who was out of jail after allegedly slitting his wife’s throat last month may have killed her Sunday.The body of Tracey Osborn, 43, was found 51 miles north of Dickinson Monday morning, police said at a press conference Monday afternoon. The body of her estranged

By: Ashley Martin, The Dickinson Press

Police say a Dickinson man who was out of jail after allegedly slitting his wife’s throat last month may have killed her Sunday.

The body of Tracey Osborn, 43, was found 51 miles north of Dickinson Monday morning, police said at a press conference Monday afternoon. The body of her estranged husband, Jamie Osborn, 41, was found in Miles City, Mont., on Sunday.

“Jamie had apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene,” Dickinson Police Lt. Rod Banyai said. He would not say how Tracey Osborn died.

After the meeting, Tracey Osborn’s tearful daughter Mandy Schutt said she misses her mother.

“She was very outgoing and friendly, loving and kind. Her grandchildren and her kids were her number one priority. She was a good mother — the best mother,” Schutt said. “Just like that it’s all taken away.”

Jamie Osborn was her stepfather, she said.

Melissa Cady-Angerer, who Dickinson police are calling “a person of interest,” has reportedly been arrested in connection to the incident.

“It’s my understanding she is a cousin to Jamie Osborn,” Lt. Dave Wallace said.

Cady-Angerer allegedly admitted to law enforcement that she drove Jamie Osborn into Montana and dropped him off, according to a Stark County criminal complaint.

She has been charged with disobeying a judicial order since she is on probation and is not supposed to leave the state, according to the complaint.

“The Stark County State’s Attorney’s Office will review the case to determine if any additional charges will be filed,” Banyai said.

Linda Splichal, Stark County clerk of court, said Cady-Angerer’s bond was set at $50,000 cash on Monday.

Police would not say where Tracey Osborn died, but an altercation reportedly took place outside her home on Fifth Avenue East in Dickinson on Sunday morning.

“We know that when she was going to work, leaving for work, that she was confronted outside of her residence by Jamie and that’s where the incident started,” Wallace said. “There was evidence at the scene that Tracey had been injured at the scene and based on that evidence we concluded that she had been a victim of a crime. The evidence was outside the residence.”

He said someone witnessed the two fighting.

“All indications are is that when she was confronted outside her residence, that is where everything transpired,” Wallace said.

Jamie Osborn allegedly attacked Tracey Osborn on July 18, but was released from jail on a $1,500 cash bond, according to court documents.

Southwest District Judge Zane Anderson signed the order stipulating terms of release.

“Jamie Osborn cut the throat of Tracey Osborn where she was transported by ambulance to the hospital for medical treatment for those injuries,” Wallace said.

Jamie Osborn had told Tracey Osborn to “prepare to die” before stabbing her in throat, according to his criminal complaint. Tracey Osborn needed stitches to close the wound, according to the complaint.

Jamie Osborn was charged with terrorizing and aggravated assault. Wallace said Jamie Osborn was also ordered not to contact Tracey Osborn.

A restraining order against Jamie Osborn was in place and they lived at separate residences at the time of their deaths, Wallace said.

A tip reportedly led police to Tracey Osborn’s vehicle in Dunn County.

“Through investigation and interviews we were told the location of the vehicle. Officers went out this morning (Monday) and were able to locate the vehicle out at the oil well site north of Dickinson,” Wallace said. “The vehicle was not on the site, it was off an embankment where we would not have normally seen it, had we not known it was there.”

The vehicle was impounded and her body was sent to the state medical examiners office in Bismarck for an autopsy, Banyai said.

“The cause of death will not be released until that autopsy has been completed,” he added.

Montana authorities alerted Dickinson officers that Jamie’s body had been found Sunday.

“The Miles City Police Department received an ambulance call of a gentleman that was laying in the wooded area next to a gas station in Miles City,” Wallace said.

After the press conference, James Green, Tracey Osborn’s brother, said he is in shock. He added he was suspicious of Jamie Osborn.

“I never really trusted him. I just noticed something about him — he just had a lot of weirdness about him, but I trusted my sister’s judgment,” Green said. “He just had a weird aura about him.”

He said Tracey Osborn had three children — two grown and one teenager who will be staying with family.

No comments: