Hobbs Police Department officers have arrested a Hobbs man for murder after he allegedly shot his wife in the chest on Friday.
Lonnie Byram, 48, of Hobbs was arrested on Sept. 10 and charged with murder, a first-degree felony.
HPD officers responded to the 900 block West Iron for a call of a gunshot wound to the chest.
When officers arrived, the Lonnie’s brother told officers Lonnie had killed his (Lonnie’s) wife Danette.
“(The brother) reportedly ran to Lonnie’s home at 1017 west Iron and found Danette sitting on the recliner in the living room with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest,” the report states. “(The brother) then located the alleged firearm used in the incident, and secured it in his own vehicle.”
The brother allegedly told officers Lonnie had been on a drinking binge for approximately three days.
While officers were taking Lonnie to an interview room at the police department Lonnie allegedly told officers “Danette had spoken poorly about his deceased brother who served in the marines and that’s why he ‘did it.’ Lonnie then changed his statement and said Danette asked him to shoot her to make her pain stop.”
“Lonnie told (detectives) he had approximately 10 beers today,” the report states. “He told me his wife of 20 years, Danette had been suffering with pain their entire marriage. He told me before they met she was involved in a car crash, and had surgery on her spine. He said she had a long medical history and believed she had cancer.”
Lonnie allegedly did not go into detail as to the exact pain his wife had been experiencing other than he had to help her around the house, according to the police report.
“He (Lonnie) told me they loved each other very much and he would have her do the same to him as he had done to her tonight,” the report states.
Lonnie explained to officers he and his wife were sitting in the living room watching television when his wife went to their bedroom and came back with his .40 caliber gun. Lonnie told officers the wife then allegedly put the gun in the husband’s hands and “asked him to take her pain away” and the wife sat down in her chair in the living room and he was sitting on the couch next to her.
“He said he shot her once in the chest while they were both sitting,” the report states. “He said he did not touch her and called their daughter off of his cell phone to tell her Danette was dead. Lonnie said he left his gun on the couch. He said he next went outside to his (other) brother who was sitting in his vehicle listening to the game. Lonnie said he told (the brother) he had killed Danette.”
Lonnie then allegedly denied making the statement to officers about his wife speaking poorly about his marine brother and told them he did not remember saying that to officers.
“He continuously told me (detectives) Danette had asked him to end her pain and she had placed the gun in his hands,” the report states. He said it was difficult to shoot her but they had tried everything else to ease her pain. He told me Danette never considered or attempted to take her own life. He said he did it because he loved her and she asked him to.”
Despite Lonnie telling officers he killed his wife to spare her pain, a petition that was filed for pretrial detention depicts a slightly different story.
The petition states the victim recorded a portion of the incident on her cell phone where Lonnie is allegedly seen pointing the gun at her and then heard saying “he’s going crazy.”
“The daughter of Danette Byram visited the home on September 10, 2021, and observed the Lonnie Byram was under the influence of alcohol,” the petition states. “(The daughter) reported to law enforcement that in the past that Lonnie Byram had become very agitated and violent towards her and her mother and had pointed a firearm at her and her mother.”
Byram is currently being held in Lea County Detention Center on a no-bond order.
