Case v. Montana · ¶7

This case began with an alarming phone call—from petitioner William Case to his ex-girlfriend J. H., both residents of a small town in Montana. Case told J. H. on the call that “he was going to kill himself.” App. 67 (testimony of J. H.). Because Case sounded “erratic,” J. H. assumed he had been drinking. Ibid. She tried to talk Case out of committing suicide, but “couldn't reel him back”: With each passing moment, Case “became more methodical about what he was going to do.” Id., at 68. Case said that he was “going to get a note”—presumably meaning a suicide note, for J. H. or others to find. Ibid. And then J. H. heard a “clicking” sound, like the “cock[ing of] a gun.” Ibid. J. H. told Case she was going to call the police, but that seemed only to antagonize him: Case replied “he would shoot them all too.” Id., at 69. Finally, J. H. heard “a pop” followed by “nothing”—“just dead air.”…

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