The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania man who apparently committed suicide after killing his wife and a state trooper had a history of drug use and violence and, in a phone call with his sister-in-law, threatened to kill his wife.
Those revelations about 44-year-old Michael Smith are contained in old and new court documents.
Police expect autopsy and ballistics tests to confirm that Smith fatally shot his wife, Nancy Smith, at their home near Oil City and then Trooper Paul Richey before killing himself Wednesday.
Nancy Smith’s sister told police that Michael Smith assaulted his wife earlier in the day. When the sister called to say she was coming to check on them, he told the sister she “signed” his wife’s “death warrant.”
The sister then called police.