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An Orem man accused of fatally shooting his wife was ordered Friday to stand trial.
Conrad Mark Truman is accused of fatally shooting his wife last year to collect nearly a million dollars in life insurance benefits.
Conrad Truman, 31, is charged with first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice for the Sept. 30, 2012 death of 25-year-old Heidy Truman.
An arraignment hearing was set for Feb. 10.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Craig Johnson said Friday afternoon that he argued that evidence from the medical examiner — that the gun that killed Heidy Truman was pressed up against her skin when it was fired — ruled out an accidental firing, leaving only suicide or murder.
"There was no suicide note found," Johnson said. "By all accounts, she was making plans for the future."
The only other person who was in the Orem home on the day of Heidy Truman's death was her husband, Johnson said.
During a two-day preliminary hearing last month in 4th District Court, Truman's sister testified that her brother told her that he was unaware of the large insurance policies, and never said he wanted or needed money.
"They had everything," Colette Dahl testified. "They went on vacations, they had multiple cars. He bought her presents. He bought her flowers."
At the end of the preliminary hearing, Judge Samuel McVey made no ruling on whether Truman's case will go to trial, opting instead to give Truman's attorney more time to look over the evidence.
Defense attorney Ron Yengich argued Friday that there were no eye witnesses to Heidy Truman's murder, and that police had built a circumstantial case against the husband, according to Johnson.
According to charging documents, Conrad Truman claimed someone else shot his wife through the window of their Orem home. But Dahl, along with a number of police officers, have testified that there was no bullet hole in a window or anywhere at their home that would indicate she was shot by someone outside.
Orem police Detective Tom Wallace previously testified that the shot that killed Heidy Truman came from Conrad Truman's gun. However, the state crime lab could not identify any definitive fingerprints on the gun, Wallace testified.
Conrad Truman also allegedly told police in an interview that his wife may have committed suicide. Wallace testified that a post on the man's Facebook page gave yet another explanation as to how his wife died.
"It was a complete freak accident," Wallace read from a printed copy of Conrad Truman's Facebook page. "She had a gun in her hand and slipped."
In the house, police found blood everywhere — in the kitchen where Heidy Truman's naked body lay, in the front entry, the living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and on Truman himself.
Despite the evidence, however, Truman told investigators that he was in another room when his wife was shot. The two had bickered that night, and she went into the bathroom to take a shower, he allegedly told police. He said that she finished showering about 20 minutes later, while he was watching TV in the living room. Then, according to his initial account recorded by police, Truman heard a loud pop and saw his wife walk out from the bathroom area and collapse on the kitchen floor.
Conrad Truman called 911, and Heidy Truman was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died.
Twitter: @jm_miller