FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Denver Police Department shows Richard Kirk, 48. On Friday, Aug. 22, 2014, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Kirk, who is charged with first-degree murder in the April 14 killing of his 44-year-old wife, Kristine Kirk, in their Denver home. Police officers arrived just after Kristine Kirk was shot in the head, about 15 minutes after she called 911. Police are investigating whether marijuana played a role in the killing. (AP Photo/Denver Police Department, File) (The Associated Press)
DENVER – A judge is weighing the evidence against a Denver man whose wife told dispatchers he ate marijuana-infused candy before he shot and killed her.
Forty-eight-year-old Richard Kirk was in court for the hearing to decide whether he will stand trial in the April killing of 44-year-old Kristine Kirk.
Authorities say she told dispatchers her husband ate the marijuana candy and may have also taken prescription pain pills before he started hallucinating and frightening their three children.
Police have not said yet whether they believe the marijuana influenced his behavior. But the death stoked concerns about the effects of the largely unmonitored marijuana snacks.
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