http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2220434&u_rnd=2317737
Published Tuesday
August 8, 2006
Tribble's husband arrested in slaying
BY TOM SHAW
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
First there was the search for Tracy Gostomski Tribble. Then the funeral. Now an arrest.
Police arrested her 40-year-old husband, Stan Tribble, this morning while he was at work at Metro Mitsubishi, just west of the Westroads Mall. He was charged with first-degree murder in an arrest warrant from Council Bluffs. The charge carries a mandatory punishment of life in prison.
The warrant alleges that Stan Tribble killed his wife late May 2 or early May 3.
Stan Tribble, of Council Bluffs, has told police that he last saw his wife at 6 a.m. May 3 when he left for work. He has said the two had a "tiff" the night before and that she had mentioned suicide.
Her family and the medical examiner said suicide was not possible.
Tracy's unclothed body was found May 19 in the Missouri River in south Council Bluffs.
An autopsy said Tracy Tribble, 35, probably died from asphyxiation, possibly from drowning or suffocation. Toxicology results showed she had a high blood-alcohol level, said Council Bluffs Police Detective R.G. Miller.
Iowa medical examiners found that Tracy Tribble had suffered multiple blunt-force injuries, including at least three injuries to her head. Those were inconsistent with an accidental death, officials have said. Her death was ruled a homicide last week based on the final autopsy results.
In an interview this morning, Tracy Tribble's mother, Mary Gostomski, tearfully thanked police for their work on the case.
"We're just gratified and relieved that the police have arrested their primary suspect," she said. "Tracy's life was wrongly taken from her. Tracy did not deserve to have her face beaten and she did not deserve to have her skull smashed . . . We just seek justice for Tracy."
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said the arrest was made after he met with Council Bluffs detectives to go over the results of the investigation.
"Yesterday was the first day I had a chance to sit down with the police department and have them lay out everything they had," Wilber said. Police have served two search warrants on the couple's Bluffs home.
The Metro Area Fugitive Task Force made today's arrest around 9:45 a.m.
Stan Tribble's attorney, James Burger, did not return a call this morning seeking comment. Burger said last week that his client maintains his innocence.
Tribble was booked into the jail at Omaha Police Headquarters about 10:35 a.m. An extradition hearing will be held in Douglas County Court, but that hearing had not been scheduled late this morning.
Tracy Tribble's family has offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for her death.
Stan Tribble also faces a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault in connection with an incident earlier this year. Tracy Tribble told police that, in early April, her husband grabbed her upper arms and throat, then punched her in the chest, leaving bruises.
Stan Tribble has pleaded not guilty to that charge.