Murder/suicide incident being investigated by Gunnison Police

Very unusual incident for Gunnison

The Gunnison Police Department is continuing its investigation into an apparent murder/suicide on Wednesday, October 22, in Gunnison.
Members of the department, along with officers from the county sheriff’s office and Colorado State Patrol, responded to a call of “shots fired” at 421 Tin Cup Drive about 5 p.m. on that Wednesday. When officers responded, they contacted William Lockey, the tenant living upstairs in the home. Officers then located Michael King, 30, and Jennifer Lembke, 40, both deceased, in the basement.

According to police department spokesperson Captain Chris Wilson, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) was contacted on October 22 and responded to work with investigators from the Gunnison Police Department in the investigation. CBI sent laboratory technicians with their processing equipment and evidence collection capabilities to aid with the volume of evidence collected, photographed and packaged. Some evidence will be submitted to the CBI for analysis.
On October 23 autopsies were completed on King and Lembke. Results of the autopsies and toxicology reports are pending. According to Wilson, it has not yet been determined who fired the shots.
This wasn’t the first time that police were called to the Tin Cup Drive residence. In September this year, officers responded there for the report of a domestic dispute involving the couple, and arrested Lembke. King and Lembke were involved in a relationship but not married. A protection order that had been in place was later cancelled upon King’s request in court. The September 2014 domestic case was pending in the Gunnison Court system and Lembke was due back in court on October 23.
In August 2014, Lockey, the upstairs tenant, reported that his bankcard had been taken and used without his permission. Approximately $800 was missing from his bank account. King was a suspect in the case. On September 16 per an investigation by the Gunnison Police Department, the Gunnison District Attorney’s Office filed charges against King for theft. On October 21 a protection order was initiated by the courts restraining King from having contact with Lockey. King was to appear in court on October 23.
There is no set timeline for the investigation, as the investigators are awaiting the autopsy and toxicology reports. Other evidence is being analyzed and interviews still being conducted.
Wilson said he is not aware of a similar situation taking place in the city limits of Gunnison. “Within the last 30 years there has been nothing like this within the city,” he said. “We have not had the time to check in the past if something like this has ever occurred in Gunnison. There was a murder/suicide in the county at the KOA [campground] years ago. The Gunnison Sheriff’s Department investigated that incident.”