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.

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

Day Eight - The Prosecution Rests With A Love Letter

Erin Corwin/Facebook

I'm going to start with the end of the day and work backward, because the final piece of evidence the prosecution presented was truly the coup de grâce of an already overwhelming case against defendant Christopher Brandon Lee.

ADA Sean Daugherty showed on the overhead projector a photocopy of a letter that was discovered in Erin Corwin's jewelry box after she disappeared. It was in handwriting that Jon Corwin said was not his own. It was a love poem written in cursive to Erin. This is what it said:

"Like it or not you still hold a part of my heart
Ready or not we were gonna get caught
Don't give up and I won't too
Hopefully like me, you still think 'I love you'"

The fingerprint technicians were able to lift a print from the piece of paper that belonged to Christopher Brandon Lee.

This proved Lee's assertion to law enforcement that his relationship with Erin ended months earlier, and that he'd had not any contact with her, was a lie. 

After the prosecution rested, defense attorney David Kaloyanides made a motion, as virtually all defense attorneys do before they begin their own cases, to have the case against their client dismissed for lack of evidence. (This was AFTER the jury left the courtroom for the day.)

In denying this motion, the usually jovial Judge J. David Mazurek became very serious and told Kaloyanides that the prosecution more than proved its case, and that a reasonable jury would be able to conclude that the defendant was guilty of first degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait. Mazurek said there was plenty of evidence proving the defendant planned the murder, while letting the victim believe he was planning a special surprise for her:

"In fact, it was a surprise trip for her, but not in the way she thought."

Someone sitting near me wondering aloud if this was the first time Christopher Lee realized how truly f*cked he was. 

The defense begins its case tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

Day Five, Part One - Wife Of Defendant Makes An Appearance

I'll be breaking today's post into two parts. Here's part one...

Court was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., or "ten-ish" as presiding Judge J. David Mazurek likes to say. Before the jury was allowed in, Nichole Lee, the wife of the defendant, made an appearance in the courtroom. She was with her attorney, who said his client wanted to testify "over my advice." Judge Mazurek told Nichole that while she had been subpoenaed to testify by the prosecution, ADA Daugherty declined to call her. However, defense attorney David Kaloyanides did want Nichole to testify for the defense, and so she was still under subpoena. She had a smile on her face the entire time she stood before the court.

I'm going to describe how she looked, because this was actually an important factor in the morning's events. Nichole's long blonde hair hung loose down her back. She had her husband's dog tags around her neck on a chain. She was wearing a black skirt suit with off-white piping, and matching off-white pumps.

Cut to a few minutes later, after Nichole had left the courtroom. The sound of a woman's voice, raised and angry, could be heard coming from outside the courtroom. I turned around to see Nichole Lee in the vestibule that separates the courtroom and the hallway where the jurors wait to be called in. The bailiff approached the judge and told him he caught Nichole Lee talking to one of the jurors.

Both Daugherty and Kaloyanides were visibly dismayed at hearing this. Both attorneys asked the judge if he would call in the juror Nichole was seen chatting with, and ask what the two women were discussing.

The juror was called in and Judge Mazurek asked her about the topic of the conversation she had with the blond woman outside. Nichole's name was not used. The juror said she had complemented Nichole on her shoes, and Nichole was talking about where she got them. That was it, according to the juror.

Just a side note: all of the jurors wear yellow buttons on their shirts that indicate they are jurors, so it's hard to imagine Nichole didn't know she was speaking to a member of the panel deciding her husband's fate. As Kaloyanides said in open court of Nichole,

"This witness is unpredictable, and I'm not sure (the interaction) was benign."

I'll try to get the second part of this post up within a few hours...

Day Four - Prosecution Calls Five Witnesses

The first witness Deputy District Attorney Sean Daugherty called Monday morning was Paul Anastasia, a engineer medic and firefighter with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Anastasia was the search and rescue member who recovered Erin Corwin's body on Aug. 17, 2014 from the mine shaft where searchers discovered her body on Aug. 16, 2014.

Anastasia described the air in the mine shaft as not habitable for humans, and the temperature there to be at least 100 degrees. He spent about a half hour in the mine shaft, placing Erin's body in two coroner's bags. Anastasia also noticed what he deemed to be a homemade torch, and made sure to bring it up with him when he left the mine. (In his opening statement to the jury last week, Daugherty said the torch was made, in part, with a t-shirt that contained the DNA of Christopher Lee.)

The second witness was Pedro Ligorria, a member of San Bernardino County's Search and Rescue team. He was a member of the search team that first discovered Erin's body in the mine. Ligorria testified that he found a bullet casing near the collar of the mine, and placed it in a plastic evidence bag using gloved hands.

Erin Corwin/Facebook

The third witness was someone court watchers have seen every day of the trial, because he sits next to ADA Sean Daugherty at the prosecution table. Detective Jonathan Woods works homicide detail for the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. He is also the case agent for this trial, collecting paperwork and reporting to the District Attorney's office.

Woods relayed how the recovered evidence was examined and bagged by members of Crime Scene Investigation. Crucial pieces of evidence included the propane tank, two 20 liter water cans that had gasoline in the bottom of the containers, and a Sprite bottle.

Woods attended Erin's autopsy. He testified as to how Dr. Frank Sheridan, the Chief Medical Examiner for San Bernardino County, removed a garrote made of paracord and rebar from around Erin's neck. Woods also explained how dental records were needed to positively identify the body found in the mine as Erin Corwin.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Detective Bryan Zierdt was the first witness to testify after the lunch break. Zierdt described a conversation he had with Nichole Lee in the days following Erin's disappearance. Nichole said her husband Chris kept the .22 caliber rifle Zierdt was inquiring about in a room at Isabel Megli's residence at White Rock Horse Rescue ranch. 

Nichole, daughter Liberty, and Zierdt drove out to White Rock. They entered Megli's residence, and Megli gave Zierdt permission to search one of the rooms. Nichole went right back to the room in question, reached up to a shelf, and took down a case that contained the rifle in question. 

The final witness of the day was Sgt. Mauricio Hurtado with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. Back in 2014 he was a detective on the same four-man homicide detail team as Detectives Woods and Zierdt. Hurtado described how CSI specialists processed the scene surrounding Erin Corwin's abandoned car. He testified about the footprints that were seen leaving the driver's side of Erin's car, and towards another vehicle. Hurtado originally believed the tire tracks of that vehicle matched Chris Lee's jeep, but further investigation revealed they did not. 

Hurtado also testified about the searches he conducted of the Lee residence, the Corwin residence, a U-Haul truck rented by the Lees, and Megli's residence. There was one piece of evidence Hurtado described that I had not read about before: a purple latex glove retrieved from the side pocket of a pair of men's camouflage shorts that were found in Megli's living room.

Court continues Tuesday morning at ten.

Day Two - The Prosecution's Case Continues

Day two of the prosecution's case consisted of just three witnesses, but there was no shortage of bombshell testimony. I will try and cut to the chase in terms of the highlights of each witnesses testimony.

The first witness of the day was Douglas Billings. I would say this man knows caves and mines in the the vast desert near Joshua Tree National Park and Twentynine Palms like a mother knows the freckles on her child's face - and with that much affection. He's been exploring the area since he was a kid, and he's now 53.

Erin Corwin/Facebook

Billings was able to use photographs taken on June 22, 2014 by a civilian friend of the defendant to zero in on the mine where searchers ultimately found Erin Corwin's body.

The next witness was Aisling Malakie. Aisling lived with her husband, Conor, and young son in the apartment directly downstairs from Erin and Jon Corwin in 2013-14. Aisling and Erin were close friends at one point - close enough that Aisling took Erin to the hospital when she suffered a miscarriage.

Aisling also discovered the relationship between Erin and the defendant, and ended up telling the defendant's wife Nichole, and Jon Corwin.

Two points Aisling made that gave me chills:

• She said Christopher Lee talked about murder more times than she could count. She found it odd because, "No one else I knew talked about snapping necks and hiding bodies with coyotes."

• After Erin went missing, Aisling called the Lee residence to let Nichole know that investigators were looking for Chris. According to Aisling, Nichole replied (referring to Erin), "I don't care what happened to that little bitch."

The final witness of the day was Aisling's husband, Conor Malakie. Conor said he considered Christopher Lee to be a close friend. On the day Erin disappeared, Chris made a vague invitation to Conor to go coyote hunting. An hour after Chris Lee left to "go hunting" Conor attempted to get in touch with him. Chris texted Conor to meet him outside Joshua Tree National Park. Conor spent as many as three hours trying to find Chris, but to no avail. All calls and texts to Chris went unanswered. Later that afternoon, when Chris returned home, Conor noticed the propane tank that was in the back of Chris's Jeep earlier that morning was no longer there.

The big moment for me was when Conor explained what happened the morning after Erin disappeared. Conor saw Chris at the apartment complex and asked him if her knew where Erin was. Chris said he didn't. Then Conor asked his very good friend, "Did you do what I think you did?"

Let that sink in. If a young man who had great affection for the defendant immediately suspected he had murdered Erin, I can't help but think the jurors will draw the same conclusion, considering the mountain of evidence the prosecution is in the process of presenting.

Day One - Opening Statements And Prosecution Witnesses

I'm writing as a blogger, and not a journalist, meaning some of my emotions will be tangled up in my coverage of this trial. I can't help it. Sitting so close to the family and friends of Erin Corwin and realizing how much this gentle, trusting, beautiful 19-year-old girl was treasured - it's just near impossible not to feel her loved ones' hearts breaking.

Opening statements started around 11 this morning, after some technical difficulties getting sound for Deputy District Attorney Sean Daugherty's power point presentation. Things finally clicked into place, and Daugherty methodically laid out the evidence to the jury he says he will present during the course of the trial.

In my opinion, the most damning evidence Daugherty told the jury to expect was DNA evidence tying defendant Christopher Brandon Lee to the mine shaft where Erin's body was discovered on Aug. 16, 2014, roughly seven weeks after she went missing on June 28, 2014.

That DNA evidence includes:

• An olive green t-shirt used to make a torch that was found in the mine shaft. Daugherty says Lee's DNA was found on this shirt.

• DNA from both Lee and Erin Corwin was found on a Sprite bottle dumped in the mine shaft. 

During most of his opening statement, and for several of the witnesses, Daugherty had the photo of the People magazine cover that featured Erin and Jon Corwin (see above) up on the overhead projector so it was visible to the entire courtroom. The photo was taken at the Marine Corps Ball the couple attended just hours before heading to Las Vegas to elope.

The defense opted not to give an opening statement, which isn't that unusual.

Erin's mother, Lore Heavilin, was the first witness. The most moving part of her testimony was when she described her last conversation via phone with Erin. Lore was planning to visit Erin the following week, and Erin described to her mom all the home-cooked dishes she wanted Lore to make for her. Lore told Erin the ingredients she would need to buy. When Lore did come out to Erin's apartment, not for the planned visit but because she went missing, Lore noticed Erin had already purchased all those ingredients.

Erin's husband, Jon Corwin, was the second witness to testify. Daugherty asked Jon about his relationship with Erin, Erin's relationship with the defendant, and Erin's relationship with the defendant's young daughter. The defense attorney cross-examined Jon, asking him about Erin's relationship with her younger sister, Trish, who passed away when she was a child. The defense attorney seemed to want to make some connection between Erin's feelings for her sister, and her feelings for the defendant's young daughter. Not sure what he's getting at there.

The last witness of the day was Erin's best friend Jessica Trentham, who relayed text messages from Erin that placed Erin with the defendant the day she went missing. Jessica spoke in a soft voice full of emotion, evident to this courtroom observer how much she loved, and still misses, her dear friend Erin.

Jury Selection Underway In Erin Corwin Murder Trial

Jury selection is underway at Superior Court of California - County of San Bernardino in the murder trial of The People of the State of California vs. Christopher Brandon Lee.

Lee is charged with first degree murder for allegedly killing Erin Corwin, 19, and dumping her body in an abandoned mine shaft. Corwin was pregnant at the time of her death.

Jury Selection For Erin Corwin Murder Trial Scheduled To Begin Sep. 19

Erin Corwin/Facebook

After numerous starts and stops, it looks like the trial for Christopher Brandon Lee, charged with first degree murder in the death of Erin Corwin, is slated to begin Sep. 19 with jury selection.

I attended the trial readiness hearing for Lee on Sept. 9 in a San Bernardino County courtroom. Lee appeared at the hearing wearing a green jail jumpsuit. His hair was cut short and there was a scruff of beard on his face. His wrists and ankles were shackled.

Lee's attorney, David J. Kaloyanides, and Deputy District Attorney Sean Daugherty both told Judge J. David Mazurek they were ready to proceed with the trial. Mazurek then ordered jury selection to start Sept. 19.

I asked my husband, a former newspaper reporter who has covered a number of high-profile murder trials, how long jury selection would take. He estimated about three to four days.  

According to Christopher Lee, spokesman for the District Attorney (yes, he has the same name as the defendant), alleged murderer Christopher Brandon Lee faces life in prison without parole if he is convicted.