Sentencing For Convicted Murderer Christopher Lee Scheduled For Tuesday Morning

Christopher Brandon Lee, who was convicted on Nov. 3, 2016 of murdering Erin Corwin, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday. The sentencing hearing is slated for 8:30 a.m. in the courtroom of Judge J. David Mazurek, who presided over Lee's murder trial.

As I wrote in a previous blog post, Mazurek doesn't really have any legal wiggle room in the sentence he hands down. According to FindLaw.com, Mazurek must automatically give Lee life in prison WITHOUT the possibility of parole because the jury found Lee guilty of murder in the first degree with the special circumstance of lying in wait:

"State laws require a sentence of life imprisonment without parole or death for homicides involving special circumstances set by the California Penal Code."

The death penalty was taken off the table before Lee's trial began on Oct. 11, 2016. Erin Corwin's mother, Lore Heavilin, is expected to be present at the sentencing.

Christopher Lee GUILTY Of First Degree Murder With Special Circumstance Of Lying In Wait

Erin Corwin/Facebook

A jury has found Christopher Brandon Lee guilty of first degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, in the 2014 killing of 19-year-old Erin Corwin.

The courtroom at San Bernardino County Superior Court was packed when the verdict was read at approximately 1:45 p.m. PDT.

Leah Sanson, reporter for the Hi Desert Star, described the scene:

"The courtroom was completely quiet as the foreman read the verdict. Lee sat silently in the defendant’s chair as behind him, in the audience, his mother began to cry.

"His wife, Nichole Lee, was not in the room."

Prosecutor Sean Daugherty told Desert Sun reporter Colin Atagi that Lee will be sentenced Nov. 29. 

The judge must automatically sentence Lee to life in prison WITHOUT the possibility of parole. According to FindLaw.com:

"State laws require a sentence of life imprisonment without parole or death for homicides involving special circumstances set by the California Penal Code."

The San Bernardino District Attorney's office put out a press release that reads, in part:

"This was a terrible crime that showed absolutely no regard for the value of human life," District Attorney Mike Ramos said. "Erin Corwin was just a young girl with her entire life ahead of her. And now, all that's left is her memory. While justice was served today, it can only be a small consolation to her family and friends who will have to suffer a lifetime of pain knowing she died such a senseless death."

 

"The murder of Erin Corwin was solved by solid investigative work and devoted volunteers committing thousands of hours during the eight-week search," said Sheriff John McMahon. "We can't erase the pain felt by Erin's loved ones, but we will do everything in our power to imprison the criminal responsible for her murder."

The death penalty was removed as an option before the trial began, according to Christopher Lee (yes, same name), the public affairs officer for the San Bernardino District Attorney's office

Day Ten - Defense Closing Argument And Prosecution Rebuttal

Erin Corwin and her mom, Lore Heavilin/Facebook

It's kind of difficult to write about the closing argument of defense attorney David Kaloyanides. He spoke to the jury in a very commanding and forceful way. But it was the content of what he said that didn't make sense to me.

He interpreted the evidence a certain way, and tried to convince the jury to interpret it as he did. Basically, that Christopher Brandon Lee is guilty of voluntary manslaughter, because the prosecution didn't prove its case for first degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait.

I think anyone who has been reading this blog knows this just isn't true. The evidence is simply overwhelming that Lee planned to murder Erin Corwin as soon as he learned she was pregnant with his baby. Lee came up with the molestation "confession" nonsense so he could try and hoodwink the jury into believing there was provocation to kill Erin. To me, Lee's provocation claim defies all logic and common sense

Fortunately, ADA Sean Daugherty had the last word in the form of his rebuttal. He equated Kaloyanides' plea to the jury to ignore all of Lee's previous lies, to the Wizard's plea in "The Wizard of Oz" to "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

He argued against Kaloyanides' assertion that the video of Erin's body in the mine shaft proved Lee threw Erin in after all of the mine blowing-up materials. Daugherty proved Kaloyanides' claim was incorrect by showing video of Erin's body in the mine shaft, with one of the tires clearly covering Erin's head. As Dr. Frank Sheridan testified, Erin suffered a fracture to the skull while her heart was still beating. He believed the fracture was caused by a blow to the head, not from her head hitting an object (like the bottom of the mine shaft). Daugherty suggested to the jury that it was the tire falling on Erin after Lee threw her in the mine shaft that caused that fracture.

Oh, one more thing. Guess who showed up for the prosecution's rebuttal case? Nichole Lee. She was not wearing her infamous white shoes, but red platform pumps and a black skirt suit. She also had on a necklace from which a giant cross hung. From her seat next to other courtroom observers, she spoke out at least twice during Daugherty's rebuttal, but I could not hear exactly what she said, so I doubt the jury could.

Now the jury has the case. I believe those reading this blog want the same thing I do - justice for Erin Corwin, and peace for her family. It is a long time coming.

Day Ten - Prosecution's Closing Argument

The day began with Judge J. David Mazurek giving the jury deliberation instructions. When he was finished, it was time for ADA Sean Daugherty to begin his closing arguments.

Jon and Erin Corwin

As he did with his opening statement, Daugherty used a Power Point presentation to illustrate his closing arguments to the jury. He began with a photo of Erin Corwin, to remind everyone who this trial is really about. He said of Erin that she was a young lady from Tennessee who loved horses. And that the case is about, "...the brutality that was inflicted upon her."

Daugherty said the perpetrator of that brutality was Christopher Brandon Lee, and he killed her because he wanted to remove her from his life:

"She was a secret who didn't want to be a secret anymore."

Daugherty then put Lee's mugshot up on the screen, showing him as the overweight, slovenly, bearded, wife-beater wearing ex-Marine he was when he was arrested for murdering Erin. Quite the contrast from the slim, clean-cut, well-dressed young man seated at the defendant's table.

Daugherty laid out the chronology of what he believes happened:

• On June 22, 2014, Erin Corwin discovered she was pregnant after a trip to the ER.
• That same day, Christopher Lee visited the mine where he would eventually abandon Erin's body, and took a photograph of that mine. (Daugherty would later surmise in his rebuttal that Erin had already told Lee she suspected she was pregnant with his baby.)
• That following week, Christopher Lee began Googling "how to dispose of a dead body" and even went as far as asking fellow Marine Andrew Johnson about the possibility of getting rid of a dead body at the Amboy salt pools.
• Johnson testified he saw Lee make a list of materials like a shovel and the chemical "Lye" that same day. 
• Lee began planning a hunting trip and invited friends he knew in advance wouldn't be able to come with him. "This was a ruse," Daugherty told the jury.
• He told Erin he was taking her on a surprise getaway to celebrate her pregnancy.
• He took Erin on this trip June 28, 2014, with everything he would need to commit a murder (the garrote) and dispose of a body (the propane tank, the water jugs filled with gasoline, tires).

Daugherty told the jury the defendant's testimony was all about attempting to reduce the charge against him from first degree murder to second degree murder. He called Lee a conman:

"It (his testimony) was scripted, it was rehearsed, it was meant to con you."

Daugherty again ripped to shreds Lee's ludicrous claim that Erin confessed to molesting his daughter. When Nichole Lee supposedly suspected her daughter had been molested, NEITHER parent:

• Called the police
• Visited a pediatrician
• Discussed concerns of abuse with Lee's military superiors.

Daugherty called Lee's molestation accusation "asinine garbage." And Erin's so-called "confession" to Lee?

"This NEVER happened."

He then asked the jury the rhetorical question:

"If a man who crafts lies to suit his own needs and to everyone important in his life, what do you think he's going to do to you?"

I'll post the defense's closing statement and the prosecution's rebuttal later this evening...

Day Ten - Closing Arguments Expected Wednesday, After Both Sides Rest Their Cases

Christopher Brandon Lee was back on the stand this morning, as prosecutor Sean Daugherty hadn't completed his cross-examination of the defendant when court broke for recess on Thursday.

Erin Corwin/Facebook

Once again, Daugherty picked apart all of the inconsistencies in Lee's versions of events. If Lee wanted to go hunting with Conor Malakie on the last day of Erin's life, then why didn't he take ANY steps to meet up with him? If Lee didn't want to get caught up in a "long, drawn-out" conversation with Erin about their future together, then why did he do everything in his power to get her to go with him, even suggesting he had a special surprise for her?

Daugherty also questioned why Lee would play Russian Roulette every day for a month, as the defendant claimed, if he was so worried about leaving his daughter Liberty without a father?

Another tidbit that Daugherty shared with the jury - apparently Lee wanted to wear his Marine Corps uniform for his trial. This is the uniform from the same Marine Corps he was so disappointed in that it prompted him to play Russian Roulette and seduce his 19-year-old neighbor? Please.

Again, Daugherty questioned Lee about all the coincidences he claims happened in the weeks, days, and moments leading up to Erin's murder; It was a coincidence Lee just happened to have a homemade garrote ("a weapon of stealth, a weapon of surprise" as Daugherty called it) on hand - and in his hand - when he was filled such with murderous rage against Erin that he strangled her.

Here are a few quotes from Chris Lee's testimony, many of which contradict each other, describing his mindset before, during, and after he strangled to death Erin Corwin:

"I made the decision to kill her, I did."

"To me it was an instant and an eternity in the same moment."

"Physically I could have stopped."

"I didn't lose my mind, Mr. Daugherty, I just wasn't able to stop."

"It was something I had to do."

"I was controlled by the anger, the hate I felt that day."

"The hate commanded me."

"Anger and hate and that's what moved me forward."

Daugherty got Lee to admit that after strangling her to death, Lee dragged Erin over to the mine shaft using the handles of the garrote that was still around her neck. "She went in head first," said Lee, without a hint of authentic emotion.

Daugherty wrapped up his cross with some stellar points:

• Why would Erin chose to confess to molesting Lee's daughter in the middle of nowhere, where she had no car, no cell service, no way to call for help, NO MEANS OF ESCAPE? 
• Where were Erin's shoes, cell phone, and car keys? If events occurred as Lee claimed they did, they should all have been on her person when she was discovered in the mine. They weren't.

On re-re-direct, David Kaloyanides asked about the demonstration of the murder Lee participated in last Thursday at Daugherty's request. Lee attempted to eliminate any premeditation from his action, saying that when he actually murdered Erin, time for him was "fluid" and there was no distinction between the moment he realized he had the homemade garrote in his hand and the five minutes it took to strangle the life out of 19-year-old Erin Corwin.

On re-re-cross (if that's what it's called) Daugherty got Lee to admit the previous false stories he told to law enforcement were shaped based on what evidence he believed the police already had. Now that Lee knows all of the evidence against him (DNA, shell casings, cell phone locations, etc.) he is shaping his testimony before the jury to match this testimony.

But in both cases, Lee blamed his actions on Erin.

Yet as Daugherty reminded the jury in one of his final exchanges with Lee, Erin couldn't have defended herself.

"She had no idea what was coming."

Lee was the only witness for the defense. Detective Woods was called as the sole rebuttal witness for the prosecution, just to re-establish Erin was not wearing shoes, and had no car keys with her, when she was discovered in the mine shaft.

Both sides have rested. The judge spent Tuesday afternoon with Daugherty and Kaloyanides going over jury instructions and what exhibits will be allowed during deliberation.

Court is back in session Wednesday at 10 a.m.

All murder which is perpetrated by means of a destructive device or explosive, a weapon of mass destruction, knowing use of ammunition designed primarily to penetrate metal or armor, poison, lying in wait, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or which is committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, arson, rape, carjacking, robbery, burglary, mayhem, kidnapping, train wrecking, or any act punishable under Section 206, 286, 288, 288a, or 289, or any murder which is perpetrated by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person outside of the vehicle with the intent to inflict death, is murder of the first degree.  All other kinds of murders are of the second degree.
- See more at: http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-189.html#sthash.H4endON2.dpu