The day after Mark Newby killed himself, Ada County sheriff's deputies met with friends of Sue Newby to brief them on their investigation into her April 4 death in Rocky Canyon.
According to three people who attended the Thursday briefing, Newby left a suicide note before shooting himself in the head.
"They wouldn't go into it, but he made it appear as if he was innocent and he was a victim and he loved his wife," said Jerri Mizrahi, a friend of Sue Newby's of 25 years.
The Sheriff's Office made a grief counselor available at the meeting, which included Sue Newby's sister and brother-in-law on speaker phone from Arizona.
Sheriff's investigators found Mark Newby dead of a gunshot wound when they arrived at his home with a search warrant Wednesday night as they investigated Sue Newby's death from a 150-foot fall. Sheriff Gary Raney said Thursday investigators had enough evidence to charge him with homicide.
Although the death initially was considered an accident, her friends didn't buy the story that she died after her horse bucked her off while she was riding close to the rim of Rocky Canyon. They relayed their suspicions to investigators.
Mizrahi was among friends who commended sheriff's Detective Shellie Stolberg for listening to their concerns and investigating Sue Newby's death. She also praised Stolberg for briefing Newby's friends Thursday.
"It was very honoring of Sue and the whole process," Mizrahi said.
In the Thursday briefing, investigators said that Mark Newby had placed a photo of himself and Sue next to an urn containing her ashes, investigators told Newby's friends. "That was staged," Mizrahi said.
On Friday, the Sheriff's Office released the tape of the 911 call Mark Newby made April 4 to report that his wife had fallen to her death from the north rim of the canyon during a horse ride in the Foothills north of Eagle.
The tape of the 28-minute call reveals a Mark Newby who is mostly calm as he talks to dispatchers.
"What struck me odd about it was he was rambling on about where he was and he wasn't telling them why he needed help," said Teresa Andrew of Boise, a close friend of Sue Newby's since they met playing soccer in 1984.
Spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said the Sheriff's Office would not release information about evidence found inside the home.
"Regardless of other circumstances surrounding his death, Mr. Newby committed suicide. We do not routinely discuss details of those incidents," Dearden said in an e-mail.
"Details about a crime/investigation may be shared with family or friends of a victim to help reduce their victimization. We see that as much different than releasing private information not required to be released under the (public records law) to the general public for little value other than to further a media story.
"I don't expect those details to be released in the near future," Dearden wrote.
Sue Newby, who moved to Idaho from Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, considered her close friends in the Valley to be like family.
Her parents were both deceased; her sister lives in Arizona.
A friend of Sue Newby's has arranged homes for her two horses and pets, Mizrahi said.
Katy Moeller: 377-6413
