NEED TO KNOW
- Melissa Calumpit, 36, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after shooting her estranged husband Travis Calumpit, 37, dead in July 2024
- She initially denied any involvement in the murder, until police located his dash camera which had captured Melissa with Travis at the time and place where he was shot
- Melissa also alleged that Travis was abusive and she shot him in self-defense after he raped her, one of several stories she told deputies according to the affidavit
A woman confessed to murdering her husband in an Idaho courtroom after initially claiming she shot the father of her children in self-defense.
Melissa Calumpit, 36, initially pleaded not guilty to the July 12, 2024, murder of Travis Calumpit, 37.
On that day, Travis traveled to Martin’s Landing, a popular camping site in the city of Parma, approximately 40 miles northwest of Boise.
Travis believed that he would be meeting his then-estranged wife at the campsite in a bid to rekindle their rocky relationship, according to a copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
The pair had married in 2010 and divorced in 2018 — only to marry a second time in 2020.
The affidavit said that Melissa later told investigators she had chosen to leave the marital home in April 2024 because she claimed Travis was abusive toward their children.
Canyon County Sheriff’s Office
Travis arrived at the campsite as planned, according to the affidavit. A few hours later deputies with the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office discovered his body.
Suspicion was immediately cast on Melissa, who denied having anything to do with the shooting.
She claimed that she and her mother were planning to drive to meet Travis, but inclement weather prohibited that from happening, so the two returned to Nevada, where Melissa was living at the time.
Melissa mistakenly revealed facts of the homicide which were not publicly available at the time, however, according to the affidavit. This made investigators even more suspicious.
Then, deputies learned that there was a dash camera in Travis’s truck.
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That video did not show the murder — but it showed that Melissa met with Travis on the day he was killed at their planned rendezvous point, according to the affidavit.
She then allegedly admitted to killing Travis, but said it was in self-defense, claiming that Travis had tried to rape her at the campground, according to the affidavit.
“Her story changed several times,” police wrote in the affidavit.
Melissa told deputies that after shooting Travis, he asked her: “Why?”
She responded: “I’m sorry. I love you.”
Despite that admission, Melissa and her mother Rosalie Morris, 60, entered not guilty pleas to all charges when first arraigned in the case.
Rosalie, who allegedly told investigators she initially planned to kill Travis, was also charged as an accessory and with plotting and aiding the murder, which she was accused of discussing and planning in a meeting at her home the day before the attack.
Both women eventually changed their pleas after making individual deals with prosecutors.
Calumpit pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and Rosalie pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting murder.
In October, a judge sentenced Rosalie to 30 years in prison, with 18 years fixed before she is eligible for parole.
This week, Melissa was sentenced to life in prison, though she could be eligible for parole in 27 years.
“He didn’t deserve that. He should still be here with me and my family,” said Travis’ sister Anna Norris at the sentencing.
Norris added: “I miss my big brother so much.”
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