When Will The Murder Trial Of Christopher Brandon Lee Begin?

Erin Corwin/Facebook

I've been contacted several times via Twitter as to when the actual trial will start - meaning the first day of opening statements by the prosecution in The People of the State of California vs. Christopher Lee.

According to what KCDZ 107.7 FM published on its website Sept. 21:

Preliminary jury selection in the murder trial of Christopher Lee started this week, but due to a conflict with the judge’s schedule, the juror panels will be called back to court October 3.

The Twitter feed for Jen's Trial Diaries reports:

#erincorwin trial is postponed till Oct 9th due to judges schedule conflict.

Now, October 9 is a Sunday, and October 10 is Columbus Day - which is a court holiday for San Bernardino County, where the Lee murder trial is being held. My best guess is the jury will hear opening statements on Tuesday, October 11 at the very earliest. If anyone out there has better information, please feel free to comment on this post.

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. 

Judge Orders Body Of Slain Marine Wife Erin Corwin Released To Her Family

First published on Home Post Dec. 3, 2014 | 11:52 a.m. | By Beth Ford Roth
  

Erin Corwin/Facebook

In a San Bernardino County courtroom this week, Judge Rod Cortez ruled that the body of slain Marine wife Erin Corwin could be released to her family - almost four months after searchers recovered her remains in a remote desert mine shaft.

KESQ.com reports Cortez rescinded a previous court order to keep Corwin's remains for further testing.

Marine veteran Christopher Brandon Lee has been charged with Corwin's murder. His attorney, according to the Desert Sun, is considering a change of venue request for his client because of the intense media attention the case has received.

Six weeks after she was reported missing, Corwin's body was discovered on Aug. 16 in a 140-foot mine shaft on Bureau of Land Management land in the Mojave Desert. Dental records were needed to confirm Corwin's identity.

She was last seen alive on the morning of June 28, when Corwin told her husband, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Wayne Corwin, she was heading to Joshua Tree National Park to scout photography locations. 

Cpl. Corwin reported his wife missing the next day.

The couple lived in an apartment at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. 

Family members of Corwin say she was three months pregnant when she disappeared.

A probable-cause affidavit filed by Detective Cory Emon of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department indicated Corwin was involved in a romantic relationship with Lee, whom she met at White Rock Horse Rescue.

Erin Corwin's Husband Speaks Out For The First Time Since Wife's Disappearance (Video)

First published on Home Post Aug. 26, 2014 | 1:59 p.m. | By Beth Ford Roth

Jon Corwin (left)

Marine Cpl. Jonathan Corwin, the widower of homicide victim Erin Corwin, is speaking to the media for the first time since his wife went missing on June 28. 

Corwin's body was discovered on Aug. 16 in a 100-foot deep mine shaft southeast of Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert. 

Jonathan Corwin spoke with The Desert Sun shortly before the start of a vigil held in Erin's memory at Luckie Park in Twentynine Palms on Monday evening:

“I had some hope, but overall, I expected the worst. It’s basically the only thing you can do after so much time. I have closure now. I know she is in heaven, now. She is in a better place, in no more pain.”

Erin and Jon Corwin

Corwin also talked with KESQ-TV off camera about his favorite memory of Erin. Reporter Natalie Brunell paraphrased what Corwin told her:

He said he'll never forget their high school prom; the first night he saw her all dressed up.

And even though they had known each other since middle school, he remembers there was just something about the way she looked that night.

Marine veteran Christopher Lee has been charged with killing Erin. Lee and his wife Nichole lived next door to the Corwins at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. 

Corwin told The Desert Sun he knew his wife and Lee once had a brief affair, but believed it had ended. Now, he trying his best to forgive the man he once considered his friend:

"Obviously, I hate the actions that he did. But I feel like, if I let him bring hatred to my mind every time I see him, he is just going to pull me down.

“When I first figured out about the affair, and everything, he was still my next door neighbor. There was a part of me that wanted to go take care of him. But if I did that, I would be in the same boat as him — I would be a bad guy. And that is just not me.”

The Associated Press reports Lee, 24, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Joshua Tree Superior Court, where he pleaded not guilty to murder charges.

To watch KESQ-TV's story about the candlelight vigil held for Erin Corwin, click here.

Marine Vet Could Face 2nd Murder Charge In Death Of Erin Corwin's Fetus

First published on Home Post Aug. 21, 2014 | 10:57 a.m. | By Beth Ford Roth

The final results of Erin Corwin's autopsy could determine whether or not Marine veteran Christopher Lee is charged with murder in the death of Corwin's fetus. 

Erin Corwin

Lee has already been arrested and charged with murdering Corwin, 19, who may have been pregnant with his child.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos told the Desert Sun an additional murder charge against Lee is possible if the autopsy can determine whether or not Corwin was actually pregnant, and how far along she was in her pregnancy. 

Ramos said California law allows a murder charge to be filed in the death of an unborn baby just four to six weeks into the fetus's development.

Corwin's sister-in-law, DeeAnna Heavilin, was interviewed by the Desert Sun last month about Corwin's pregnancy:

"We don't know exactly how far along she is with this pregnancy. She only found out about the pregnancy two weeks before she went missing and a doctor hasn't confirmed a due date yet."

As Home Post previously reported, Corwin's body was discovered in an abandoned mine shaft on Aug. 16. 

On June 28, Corwin had told her husband, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Corwin, she was heading to Joshua Tree National Park to scout photography locations. 

Cpl. Corwin reported his wife missing the next day.

The couple lived in an apartment at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, next door to Christopher Lee and his wife Nichole.

Lee was in an Anchorage courtroom Thursday morning, where he waived his rights against extradition to California to stand trial for Corwin's murder.

Deputy DA Clint Campion of Anchorage told KTUU-TV he expects Lee to be transferred to California within a week:

"I would say (in) the next couple of days. The judge set a hearing for Sept. 8 to make sure he's actually gone."

 

The Evidence That Led To Marine Vet's Arrest In Erin Corwin Case

Originally published on Home Post Aug. 19, 2014 | 9:37 p.m. | By Beth Ford Roth

Erin Corwin/Facebook

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos filed murder charges Tuesday against Marine veteran Christopher Brandon Lee, 24, in connection with the death of Erin Corwin.

Ramos said in a news release that the special circumstance of "lying in wait" was attached to the murder charge, making Lee eligible for the death penalty or life without parole:

"The decision regarding which penalty will be sought will be made after a full review of the facts and evidence in the case."

The arrest warrant for Lee, made public by Ramos, sheds light on some of the evidence that led to Lee's arrest Sunday in Alaska. 

Apparently Lee admitted to detectives he searched the Internet for ways to dispose of a human body. But he didn't stop there in his quest for knowledge, according to the warrant:

"A witness... informed detectives that Lee asked him what was the best way to dispose of a human body."

Some of the evidence recovered from the 140-foot mine shaft where searchers found Corwin's body include:

• .22-caliber fired cartridge casings consistent with casings recovered from Lee's car and home.
• Rebar consistent with pieces of rebar detectives found in Lee's car.

Law enforcement officials have made clear the investigation into Erin Corwin's death is ongoing and additional arrests could be made.