Husband charged with promoting wife’s suicide

A man accused of providing the gun his wife used to shoot herself in the head Thursday is in the Spokane County Jail on the rare charge of promoting a suicide attempt.

The couple’s 13-year-old son was present and witnessed her death in their home in Elk, according to court documents.

Calvin R. Bishop, 39, was ordered held on $5,000 bond during a brief court appearance Friday.

His attorney argued that the arrest was “police abuse” and that there was not enough probable cause to arrest his client.

“His wife chose to take her own life,” he said. “He could not stop that.”

Bishop told deputies that he and his wife were arguing because he believed that she had been unfaithful, according to court documents. She had recently been arrested on criminal charges in Idaho and had used their home as collateral to bond out of jail. In an effort to get her to confess, Bishop reportedly told deputies that he told her he was going to call her bail bondsman and have her bail revoked so she would go back to jail. He said he dialed the phone, but immediately hung up, according to court documents.

She became upset and reportedly said that life wasn’t worth living without her family. Bishop told deputies that his response was to open the gun safe that only he knew the combination to and pull out a loaded 9 mm handgun, according to court documents. Both he and his son told deputies that she took the gun from his hand and used it to shoot herself.

Bishop reportedly told deputies that he got the gun out to remind his wife of the time he thought of committing suicide and she talked him out of it, according to court documents.

Bishop’s attorney argued strenuously that his client should not be facing criminal charges.

“I’m offended by this case,” he said. “What occurred here was a tragedy, not a crime. He needs to go home to his son and bury his wife.”

Prosecuting attorney Gayle Ervin said that the suicide would not have happened without Bishop’s actions.

“He frightened her and then he provided the weapon,” she said.

Bishop was ordered to have no contact with his son because he is a witness in the case.