CODY (Lee News Service) - Lovell police and a U.S. Army sergeant worked unsuccessfully last year to persuade a suicidal soldier to return to his base in North Carolina, fearing he might harm himself or others. One week later, the soldier killed his estranged wife and himself.

Recordings of telephone conversations between police and Army personnel, along with a separate report by the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, offer some insight into the circumstances leading up to the fatal encounter.

They also show that drugs and alcohol may have played a role Nov. 5 when Sgt. Steven D. Lopez, 23, shot Brenda Lee Davila, 22, three times before turning the gun on himself outside Davila's Carmon Avenue residence in Lovell.

The records show that Sgt. 1st Class Clinton Ham, Lopez's supervisor at Fort Bragg, and Lovell Police Officer Robert Bifano struggled to convince Lopez and his family that they were more concerned for Lopez's safety than his status as absent without official leave from the Army.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command at Fort Carson, Colo. conducted an investigation following the shootings, and issued a final report Feb. 28. The Army released a redacted copy of the report to The Gazette last month following a request filed in April under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The report by the Criminal Investigation Division states that Lopez, an active-duty sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., left there Oct. 16 for non-commissioned officer training in Missouri, but was listed as absent without official leave when he had not arrived by Oct. 18.

Ham called the Lovell Police Department Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, asking if they had information on Lopez's whereabouts, but did not mention that the soldier was AWOL.

"It ain't nothing crazy like he's missing or whatever. I just want accountability to make sure that he don't come up there while he's on his time to do something crazy, because I asked him to call me, but he never called," Ham told a dispatcher Oct. 20.

"So I'm just trying to cover my ground to say he's there or he's with his wife, because I know they got a little problem, or whatever the case may be," he said.

Marital strife

Ham's comments, the CID report, statements from family members and text messages from Lopez to Ham all allude to friction between Lopez and Davila.

In a conversation with Ham, Bifano mentions that Davila's mother said Lopez and Davila had split because of instances of domestic violence.

The Army CID report, however, states that a "search of the centralized operations police system did not reveal any prior domestic assault allegations or weapons registered to Sgt. Lopez or Mrs. Lopez."

The report also states that a "review of Sgt. Lopez's medical records (showed) there were no indicators of post-traumatic stress disorder and he was not prescribed any medication for PTSD."

Lopez had served in Iraq and Afghanistan before returning to Fort Bragg.

A statement by a member of Lopez's Army unit whose name was redacted from the CID report states that, "Sgt. Lopez and his wife were pending a divorce for some unknown act of infidelity."

The attempt at reconciliation was not successful, and the two disagreed over the extent to which Lopez should see his two young children, according to statements by Ham.

Witnesses said that was the issue in a dispute on the day of the shootings, according to the CID report.

Witnesses to the shootings described Lopez as acting drowsy, and a police report lists a plastic bag containing four pills that match the description for generic Xanax as being recovered from the scene.

The CID report states that, based on toxicology test results included in an autopsy report, Lopez tested positive for opiates and benzodiazepines.

Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed for conditions ranging from insomnia to anxiety, and are found in various prescription medicines, including Valium and Xanax.

An autopsy report by Dr. Thomas Bennett of Billings dated Nov. 8 lists alcohol ingestion as a "significant condition" for Lopez at the time of death. Toxicology results for Davila were negative.

The Gazette obtained an incomplete copy of the autopsy report from a third party after Big Horn County Coroner Del Atwood referred a Dec. 17 written request for the report to Big Horn County Attorney Georgia Antley Hunt.

Hunt received written requests from The Gazette for the report in December, May and August. She stated in May that the case might still be under investigation, and sent word in August through a secretary that she had been "extremely busy."

She has yet to provide a copy of the report or a definitive reason for withholding it.

Text messages

The CID report notes a text message sent by Lopez to Ham in the days before the shooting that highlights his distress at the ongoing rift with his wife.

"I tried to come here and be the right person for my wife and kids, but I guess I'm not the right person. I'm (messed) up boss. I'm (messed) up," Lopez wrote.

During a phone call with Bifano, Ham relayed an Oct. 23 text message he received from Lopez referencing difficulties at Fort Bragg.

"I was a lot worse off over there than I showed. My life is so (messed) up right now. I couldn't take it. I'm figuring out how to stay alive," Lopez wrote, according to Ham.

Lopez also sent text messages expressing thoughts of suicide, according to Ham, raising fears among his Army colleagues that he might harm himself or others.

But Lopez later downplayed those sentiments in messages and conversations with Ham and Bifano, while his family members offered Bifano conflicting opinions of the seriousness of his suicidal threats.

The trail of telephone calls and text messages highlights the difficulty investigators faced in gauging the credibility of Lopez's threats.

When Lopez had still not returned to base by Oct. 29, Ham asked the Lovell Police Department for help in locating him.

"He's suicidal, and I don't want nothing to happen to this young soldier," Ham told a dispatcher, also noting that neither Lopez nor his family members would return his phone calls.

"I was wondering if someone could go by his parents' house and see if he's at his parents' house or if they know where he's at. And let them know that, yes, he's sending his boss text messages about suicidal thoughts," he said.

"Maybe they'll tell where this man is at, so we can get him back here and get him some help," Ham said.

"I don't want this dude to commit suicide or to kill his family, you know, and that's what's on our minds right now," he told the dispatcher.

Afternoon search

Recordings of subsequent radio transmissions and phone calls from Oct. 29 show that Bifano spent two hours that afternoon trying to locate Lopez. He worked to reassure Lopez and his family that he was not in trouble, and that Sgt. Ham was deeply concerned for his welfare.

Bifano attempted to sort out contradictory information about Lopez's whereabouts, and weighed conflicting opinions of whether his suicide threats were serious.

One family member dismissed concerns, while another told Bifano that Lopez was "not OK and he will kill himself," Bifano told Ham during one phone call.

Bifano told Ham that Lopez and one family member feared Lopez was being "set up" by the Army.

"I'm actually trying to help Steven. We're worried about him and the welfare of his family right now," Ham told Bifano.

Ham confirmed that Lopez was AWOL only after Bifano asked him.

"That's probably why he's worried about coming in. He thinks he's going to get arrested for being AWOL," Bifano told Ham.

Ham then appeared ready to dismiss further efforts to locate Lopez, telling Bifano, "There's nothing that ya'll really can do."

Bifano said he would continue searching for Lopez until he was sure the soldier was OK.

"I'm not going to have him dead tomorrow because I didn't go find him," Bifano said.

At no point during several phone calls did Ham ask Bifano to arrest or detain Lopez in relation to his AWOL status.

Help, not trouble

"I'm not getting him in trouble. He should know me better than that," Ham told Bifano. "I'm desperate to get him some help."

In the afternoon of Oct. 29, Bifano reached Lopez by phone and told him, "Just so you know, you're not in any trouble. They haven't put out any warrants or anything for you being gone, so that's not what it's about."

Lopez then met with Bifano at the police station and assured Bifano that he was fine, and that he did not intend to hurt himself or anyone else, according to a conversation Bifano had minutes later with Ham.

"He's having a rough time, but he says he's not going to hurt himself," Bifano told Ham.

"I told him that he needed to get his butt back right away, so hopefully, he's going to take that to heart," he said.

Bifano offered to follow up with subsequent visits to Lopez, making sure he followed through on his promise to return to base.

"I'll probably give you a call probably Thursday or Friday of this week," Ham told Bifano at the end of their last call on Oct. 29, a Monday.

At about 12:30 p.m. the following Monday, Nov. 5, Lopez sent another text message, presumably to Ham, although his name is redacted from the CID report.

"My dad is buying me a bus ticket ASAP since the Army quit (paying) me after six years of my life I gave to it. I'll call you or someone when I get to the bus stop," Lopez wrote.

Later that day, Lopez went to Davila's, asking to see their children, but was refused because of his erratic behavior, according to accounts by witnesses as detailed in police reports.

He left, but returned a short time later with a Ruger .38 Special pistol, which he used to kill his wife and himself.