Fresno County Sheriff’s detectives have arrested Stanley Pipes, 55, of Fresno. He faces a felony charge of murder. The Coroner’s Office has identified the victim as Kristie Claassen, 62, of Fresno. Pipes and Claassen were engaged to be married.
Around 7:00 am on Monday, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call where the caller stated that there was a man (Stanley Pipes) at a home on the 1000 block of S. Rogers Ln. in Fresno who was threatening to kill himself and that someone else in the house was already dead. Deputies forced entry into the house and found a woman (Kristie Claassen) who was deceased from an apparent gunshot wound. Deputies immediately detained Pipes and recovered a firearm from inside the house. Pipes and Claassen were the only two people at the home when deputies arrived. Pipes was taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
A motive for the killing still has not been determined. This remains an ongoing investigation. It marks the 9th homicide of the year in Fresno County.
Anyone with additional information on this case should call the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center at (559) 600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7687).