Cedaredge man accused in wife’s death

'New information' led sheriff to suspect husband of homicide

Billy Kissner

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Staff

Billy Kissner

By {screen_name}
Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A Cedaredge man jailed in connection with the 2010 death of his wife will wait until May 17 for a bond hearing to get out of the Delta County Jail.

Billy David Kissner, who faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of his wife, Raelynn, will be defended by Denver attorney Harvey Steinberg, who in March fended off a rape case against former Denver Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox.

An investigation has been continuing since the Nov. 22, 2010, death of Raelynn Kissner, Seventh Judicial District Attorney Dan Hotsenpiller said Monday after a short hearing in Delta County Court.

Kissner, 47, appeared before County Judge Sandra Miller by videoconference from the Delta County Jail with Ariel Benjamin, a Steinberg associate.

Eight relatives of Raelynn Kissner were in the courtroom, but they declined to speak to reporters after the hearing.

Deputies from his office arrested Kissner on Friday after “some new information” came to the attention of investigators about a week before the arrest, Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee said.

McKee said he couldn’t elaborate on the nature of the new information.

Miller ordered that the arrest affidavit remain sealed to the public, but ordered that copies be provided to the prosecutors and the defense.

Prosecutors are familiar with the contents of the affidavit, but he had yet to see the document, Hotsenpiller said after the hearing.

Miller set a May 17 bond hearing, a time frame that Hotsenpiller said would allow him time to negotiate with Steinberg on a protective order limiting the people with whom Kissner could have contact once free on bond.

Raelynn Kissner was found unconscious and not breathing in a hot tub at her home. She was pronounced dead at Delta County Memorial Hospital, but no cause of death ever was determined. She was 45 and had a son, Kurt, of Grand Junction, and a daughter, Danielle, of Montrose, according to her death notice.