Day Seven - Video Of Christopher Lee Interrogation

San Bernardino Sheriff's Department Sgt. Daniel Hanke was called back to the stand, so the prosecution could continue to play Hanke's videotaped interrogation of Christopher Lee, which took place in the early morning hours of July 1, 2014.

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The first 90 minutes of the interview aired in the courtroom Wednesday of last week. For a review of what was said, you can click here.

ADA Sean Daugherty pushed play, and Chris Lee described to Hanke how his wife Nichole found out about his texting relationship with Erin. Chris said Nichole was suspicious enough to remove the SIM card from his phone, put it in her laptop, and read what her husband was texting to Erin. Chris said Nichole was furious with him, because Chris and Erin both told each other "I love you" via text.

Hanke pressed Chris on his true feelings for Erin. Chris replied:

"I thought I was in love with her, but it was a make-believe life I was in love with."

Hanke asked Chris about the physical contact between Erin and him. Chris said it consisted solely of four kisses. Chris also admitted he considered leaving Nichole for Erin, but he decided against it because of his young daughter, Liberty:

"If I didn't have Liberty, I might have."

Chris also said when he and Erin were at their closest, they never fought.

"We thought we were perfect together."

Hanke then steered the conversation to Chris's movements the weekend Erin disappeared. Chris seemed okay with this, because he described the months he was involved with Erin as...

"Part of my life I wanted to move past."

Chris went through a rough timeline of Friday, June 27, 2014 (the day before Erin went missing) until the following Sunday. Chris said he and Nichole and Liberty went out to White Rock Horse ranch. On the drive home, they stopped at Stater Bros. market so Nichole could buy bread, and Chris could talk to his friend Skyler (not sure about the spelling) in the parking lot about going coyote hunting the next day. Skyler could not because of a shoulder injury.

Chris said he woke up at six on Saturday morning, talked to Conor Malakie about going coyote hunting, then went on the trip by himself. Chris claimed he got lost on the trip, and that at one point, a stranger shot a handgun at him. He also told Hanke he visited a mine (which to me, sounded like the mine shaft next to the one where Erin's body was found) and used his rifle to shoot at rocks to make sure his rifle was "on." He said he picked up all the casings.

When he got home that afternoon, according to Chris, Nichole was in a panic because she hadn't been able to reach him by cell phone all day. Chris said Nichole was crying and even had an asthma attack because of her frantic state.

I'm going to cut to the chase a bit, because detective Hanke and then his sergeant started to corner Chris with evidence they said they had that proved Chris was with Erin on the day she went missing. Keep in mind, law enforcement officials can lie to suspects they are interrogating, and it's perfectly legal. So, Chris was told that his tire tracks matched those that were next to Erin's car (this proved later to be false). But Chris then changed his story, and said he did see Erin's car that morning, drove up to it to check out the tires, and then drove away. He claims he never saw Erin.

Chris was also told that his DNA could be compared to the DNA on file of Erin's embryo. Now, there was no DNA from an embryo. But what struck me is that Chris Lee never said, "Erin was pregnant?" He just listened silently, as if he already knew that she was.

However, despite the detectives pleas to Chris to confess his knowledge of what happened to Erin, he sat stoically, silently, except for the occasional statement:

"I didn't meet her on Saturday."

Time for bed. Court continues tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10 a.m. with the remainder of the Chris Lee videotaped interrogation. Goodnight, all.