Testimony continues in murder trial for B'ville man accused of shooting wife

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Testimony continued Wednesday in the trial of a Bartlesville man charged with second degree murder for allegedly fatally shooting his wife in the head.

Gary Carl Buoy, 52, arrested in June following the shooting of 51-year-old Diana Faye Buoy more than a year ago, spent his third day in Washington Court District Court as jurors listened to a second day of testimony.

At the heart of the trial is the question about whether the shooting was accidental or whether it was murder.

According to police, the investigation into the incident began on Jan. 7, 2011, when police received a report a person had been shot. They arrived to the Buoy's apartment home on the 201 S.E. Avondale and saw Buoy's wife had been shot in the head.

Buoy reportedly told police during questioning he had accidently shot her while holding a revolver and manipulating the hammer, saying he had been several feet away from her when the gun went off.

However, police arrested Buoy when the autopsy revealed the gun had been fired two to four inches from her head — as indicated by the gunpowder burn marks left on her head.

When confronted with the findings, Buoy reportedly said he and his wife “must have been much closer to each other than he originally realized.”

Since opening statements Tuesday morning by Jared Sigler of the Washington District Attorney's Office, representing the state, and Buoy's attorney Kristi Sanders, jurors have been hearing testimony from police and investigators involved in the case.

First they heard from Officer Korrie Plummer, one of the first of the police to arrive to the scene, and later from Investigator Kevin Ickleberry. His testimony continued into Wednesday until Steve Birmingham was called to the stand.

Ickleberry during his time before the court described Buoy's interview shortly after the shooting. According to Buoy, he had been holding the gun in his left hand and was standing in front of his recliner in front of the television — his wife next to him — when the gun went off. Buoy, Ickleberry said, had the hammer up on the .357 Charter Arms revolver and had closed the cylinder, when the gun fired.

Buoy reportedly told Ickleberry he had then thought he had had struck the wall, and then saw his wife fall over.

Ickleberry told the court that during the initial interviews, Buoy appeared very distraught, at one point saying he wanted to die and then saying he wondered what he was going to tell his children.

Birmingham on the witness stand on Wednesday told jurors that during one interview Buoy said it was very possible he pulled the trigger on the weapon.

Under questioning by the state prosecution team, Birmingham said it appeared Buoy changed his story of the shooting event during the course of the investigation as more detail was revealed, namely changing his story about the distance he was from his wife when the gun went off.

Birmingham said when he confronted Buoy about his claim he was between three to four feet from Diana and forensic findings that he was in fact less than four inches away, Buoy said “I was closer to her than I realized.”

Birmingham said Buoy's account of how he held the gun at the time of the shooting changed as well.

Under questioning by Sanders, Birmingham told the jury he did open one interview with Buoy telling him that sometimes people remember things they didn't previously remember as time goes on.

He also said he remembered Buoy saying often during interviews how he wasn't sure how things happened and that he did not know, but saying “accidental discharge” many times.

Birmingham said Buoy said, “She was closer than I thought. It happened so fast.”

Following his testimony called to the witness stand was an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations firearms expert and a doctor from the Medical Examiner's Office who both told the court the gun had been fired less then four inches away from Diana's head.

Following their testimonies, Sanders called to the stand Buoy's son who told the jury when he entered his parent's apartment after his mother was pronounced dead, he could not find the gun — the .357 revolver — he had given his father as a gift. He said he found in his father's recliner's arm compartment .38 and .357 rounds.

After this, both the prosecution and defense rested.

Members of the jury will return Thursday morning at which time they will be given instructions, hear closing arguments and then given the decision.