Hunt for sharpshooter who murdered wife

[Elle]

By Mead Gruver
The Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Investigators located the pickup truck of a military sharpshooter suspected of killing his estranged wife as she sang at a Cheyenne nightclub. An empty handgun case was inside the truck, but the man was nowhere in sight, police said Tuesday.


The search for David Munis, 36, focused Tuesday on a canyon area north of Laramie where the pickup was spotted late Monday, Police Lt. Jeff Schulz said.

Schulz said officers were searching the rugged terrain by foot and a Wyoming National Guard Blackhawk helicopter would assist from the air. Knowing Munis' firearms training, the hunt had searchers on edge.

Police don't know what kind of guns Munis may be armed with, but after searching his home, they assumed he had at least one high-powered rifle with him and likely the handgun and two canteens. Schulz has said the search of the home also turned up evidence connecting Munis to his wife's death, though he did not elaborate.

Munis has been a member of the Wyoming Army National Guard since 2003, was previously in the U.S. Army and was a 2001 graduate of the Army Sniper School at Ft. Benning, Ga., according to the National Guard.

"Apprehending a man with that kind of sniper skill and the weaponry he has available to him is an extremely dangerous type of proposition," Schulz said.

Robin Munis, 40, had been singing with a classic-rock and country group at the Old Chicago early Saturday when a bullet pierced a plate glass door and hit her in the head, killing her. Police said Monday they were securing an arrest warrant for her estranged husband charging him with homicide.

Schulz said investigators were speaking to David Munis' relatives in Montana and a friend at an Army base in Kentucky with whom he had been in contact.

Munis was assigned to an infantry regiment at Ft. Campbell, Ky., according to Lt. Col. Kevin V. Arata, public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Arata said he couldn't determine from Munis' military records if he was ever in combat.

Robin Munis' brother, Art Werner, declined to comment on his sister's death when reached Tuesday at their parents' home in Clarksville, Tenn. He said her funeral service had not been set.

John Plaster, a sniper instructor for military and law enforcement agencies around the country and author of "The Ultimate Sniper," said graduates of the nation's military sniper schools are trained in evading capture, but he said he would be surprised if the hunt ended in a shoot out.

"A guy like that, his enemy, in his mind, was his wife," Plaster said. "I don't think a guy like that would want to go out of his way to shoot at police. But if you corner him, you've got a very dangerous individual."

The sniper training in the Army and Marine Corps is rigorous and screens out in advance any potential thrill killers or people who seem to have emotional problems, he said. Instead, military sharpshooters think of their work in terms of saving the lives of their own troops on the battlefield.

Plaster said he believes that a highly trained soldier who snapped and killed a spouse would be likely to commit suicide. "All the honor of being a soldier, of being devoted to country, and so on, that's gone," he said.

Investigators located the pickup truck of a military sharpshooter suspected of killing his estranged wife as she sang at a Cheyenne nightclub. An empty handgun case was inside the truck, but the man was nowhere in sight, police said Tuesday.

The search for David Munis, 36, focused Tuesday on a canyon area north of Laramie where the pickup was spotted late Monday, Police Lt. Jeff Schulz said.

Schulz said officers were searching the rugged terrain by foot and a Wyoming National Guard Blackhawk helicopter would assist from the air. Knowing Munis' firearms training, the hunt had searchers on edge.

Police don't know what kind of guns Munis may be armed with, but after searching his home, they assumed he had at least one high-powered rifle with him and likely the handgun and two canteens. Schulz has said the search of the home also turned up evidence connecting Munis to his wife's death, though he did not elaborate.

Munis has been a member of the Wyoming Army National Guard since 2003, was previously in the U.S. Army and was a 2001 graduate of the Army Sniper School at Ft. Benning, Ga., according to the National Guard.

"Apprehending a man with that kind of sniper skill and the weaponry he has available to him is an extremely dangerous type of proposition," Schulz said.

Robin Munis, 40, had been singing with a classic-rock and country group at the Old Chicago early Saturday when a bullet pierced a plate glass door and hit her in the head, killing her. Police said Monday they were securing an arrest warrant for her estranged husband charging him with homicide.

Schulz said investigators were speaking to David Munis' relatives in Montana and a friend at an Army base in Kentucky with whom he had been in contact.

Munis was assigned to an infantry regiment at Ft. Campbell, Ky., according to Lt. Col. Kevin V. Arata, public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Arata said he couldn't determine from Munis' military records if he was ever in combat.

Robin Munis' brother, Art Werner, declined to comment on his sister's death when reached Tuesday at their parents' home in Clarksville, Tenn. He said her funeral service had not been set.

John Plaster, a sniper instructor for military and law enforcement agencies around the country and author of "The Ultimate Sniper," said graduates of the nation's military sniper schools are trained in evading capture, but he said he would be surprised if the hunt ended in a shoot out.

"A guy like that, his enemy, in his mind, was his wife," Plaster said. "I don't think a guy like that would want to go out of his way to shoot at police. But if you corner him, you've got a very dangerous individual."

The sniper training in the Army and Marine Corps is rigorous and screens out in advance any potential thrill killers or people who seem to have emotional problems, he said. Instead, military sharpshooters think of their work in terms of saving the lives of their own troops on the battlefield.

Plaster said he believes that a highly trained soldier who snapped and killed a spouse would be likely to commit suicide. "All the honor of being a soldier, of being devoted to country, and so on, that's gone," he said.


Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Sapper_132]

Anyone know who's heading up this investigation? I want to donate some man power to them!

[Elle]

Another news article, also has the shooter's photograph, not sure who's heading the investigation.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/16/singer.shot.ap/

[Elle]

They found him, got him in the hospital now for a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289705,00.html

[Willowdared]

They found him, got him in the hospital now for a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289705,00.html

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A military sharpshooter accused of killing his estranged wife as she sang at a bar was found Tuesday night with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest and died after being taken to the hospital, the local sheriff's department confirmed to FOX News.

He's dead....good riddance.

[Elle]

Yea, the page at first only had that he was in the hopsital wounded. 4 kids are orphaned now because of him.

[CTR man]

Did the sniper instructor call it or what? No record, an aspiring soldier but yet he chose to do this. Unreal.