By The Canadian Press

Man who shot and killed wife in Claresholm hostage-taking dies in custody

Aug 2, 2017 | 6:28 PM

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – A man who took his estranged wife hostage before shooting her in the head in southern Alberta has died in custody in British Columbia.

Correctional Service Canada did not say how 66-year-old Leonard Louis Wright died, but said his death will be reviewed by the agency.

Wright was given a life sentence for the second-degree murder of his wife Jacqueline Wright, who was 35.

In June 1991, Jacqueline Wright called police saying her estranged husband was trying to break into her home in Claresholm.

When RCMP responded they saw the couple struggling over a rifle in the backyard.

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Not wanting to see the woman or officers hurt, police said they pulled back and waited for the emergency response team to get to the community.  However, Superintendent Owen Maguire of Lethbridge R-C-M-P said at the time that officers had no opportunity to intervene before the fatal shot was fired.