Husband kills wife
<p>After the standoff was concluded on Tuesday, Lincoln County Sheriffs and the Libby Police Department congregated briefly, in the front yard adjacent to the front of the Kinniburgh residence, to exchange the events of the long day.</p>
Standoff 63
Standoff 31
<p>An SRT member stood sentry on the street as the events of the day unfolded.</p>
<p>Lincoln County Animal Control was called to remove animals from the Kinniburgh residence after the eight-hour standoff.</p>
<p>Lincoln County Animal Control was called to remove animals from the Kinniburgh residence after the eight-hour standoff. There dog was found after it had run from the home after the incident.</p>
two dead in Main Avenue murder-suicide
In the early-evening hours Tuesday, two individuals were pronounced dead after an eight-hour standoff with Lincoln County law enforcement.
“The incident is still so new,” Lincoln County Sheriff, Roby Bowe, said after the standoff. “It will be at least a two-hour debriefing before we can issue a press release.”
It is still unclear what took place in the Kinniburgh home, located at 1217 Main Ave. in Libby — resulting in what appears to be a murder-suicide.
A 911 call was made by Dale Kinniburgh Jr., 51, at 6:28 a.m., he told authorities he had killed his wife, Catherine Kinniburgh, 55, and was planning to kill himself.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) and the Libby Police Department were dispatched to the residence.
According to law enforcement records, Kinniburgh was arrested in 2006 for obstructing and resisting; carrying a concealed weapon — handgun, and multiple threats to law-enforcement officials and city-street workers. However, there is no record of partner-family-member assault reported from the couple’s home.
Law enforcement arrived on scene and quickly evaluated the situation. Because of the past related contacts with Kinniburgh, authorities were concerned for neighbors.
“There were indications within the home that led us to start an evacuation of the residents,” Chief of the Libby Police Department Jim Smith said. “We needed to contain the area for safety reasons.”
The process to evacuate the homes surrounding the Kinniburgh’s home began sometime after 7:30 a.m. While there was a small group of officers stationed at the scene, the remaining officers continued to evacuate neighbors —to contain the area — moving outward before establishing a command center in the parking lot of the Christ Lutheran Church.
By 8:30 a.m. many of the homes in a one-block radius had either been evacuated or residents were told to stay in their homes and away from windows.
Officers blocked all streets leading to the Kinniburgh home; Main Avenue was blocked at Larch, Oak and Spruce streets, including the corner California Avenue and Spruce Street.
The fog was thick during much of the morning, although the lights were not flashing on many of the law-enforcement vehicles. Numerous vehicles circled the parameter around the stationed-road blocks, indicating the ... please read more of this story in the Jan. 6, Friday Edition of The Western News