The fatal shooting last week of Greg Rodriguez of Sugar Land, a big-game hunting expert and host of TV's A Rifleman's Journal, was a murder-suicide involving a man whom a Montana police chief described as "a jealous husband."
Rodriguez, 43, was shot about 10:30 p.m. Thursday at a house in rural Whitefish, Mont., which he was visiting for his show, according to a statement released by local police to the Los Angeles Times.Rifleman's Journal on the Sportsman Channel has focused on Rodriguez's specialty, big-game hunting in exotic locations all over the world, along with marksmanship tips to viewers.The Whitefish area is in northwestern Montana near Flathead National Forest.Rodriguez was visiting a friend who was staying with her mother, the Daily Inter Lake reported, identifying the woman as Lindsey Bengtson, 30.Lindsey Bengtson told police that Rodriguez was with her and her 2-year-old son at the house Saturday night when her husband, Wayne Bengston, 41, arrived, shot Rodriguez and "brutally beat" her.The Missoulian reported that Wayne Bengston was armed with a .44-caliber revolver with which he pistol-whipped his wife and shot Rodriguez multiple times from about 3 feet away.Wayne Bengtson fled with his son in his truck, left the child unharmed at a relative's house and drove about 25 miles to the Montana resort town of West Glacier, where officers later found him dead, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.Lindsey Bengtson, who was treated and released from a hospital after the shooting, works for a local firearms manufacturer, records show. She met Rodriguez at a trade show and struck up a casual relationship, Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial told the Los Angeles Times.Dial said Wayne Bengtson "was a jealous husband," that there were "some indications" his wife and Rodriguez were involved but that he could not comment on the any relationship, referring questions to Lindsey Bengtson, who could not be reached Monday.Dial said no one would be charged in the shooting, which he called a "pretty clear-cut homicide-suicide, tragic for both families." Officials at the Sportsman Channel released a statement saying they were "deeply saddened" by Rodriguez's "sudden untimely death.""He truly epitomized Sportsman Channel's position of being a leader in the outdoors," they said, noting that Rodriguez owned an outfitting business, Global Adventure Outfitters, and contributed to outdoor publications including Petersen's Hunting, Guns & Ammo and Shooting Times.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
