Renisha McBrideDETROIT, MI -- After two days of testimony, Dearborn Heights District Court Judge David D. Turfe ruled that there is enough evidence for Theodore Wafer, 54, of Dearborn Heights to face trial for the killing of Renisha McBride.
He is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the Nov. 2 killing.
McBride, an unarmed 19-year-old from Detroit, made it to his home at 4:42 a.m. after slamming into a parked car nearly four hours prior at 1 a.m.
"What did he do in this case, he brought a shotgun to the door," Turfe said. "He could have called for help, he could have run to another part of the house... He chose to shoot rather than not answer the door.
"It suggests to this court the defendant made a bad choice when there were other reasonable opportunities."
McBride was intoxicated and had recently smoked marijuana according to Wayne County Medical Examiner Kilak Kesha.
Kesha estimated McBride's blood-alcohol level to be between .28 and .29 percent at the time she was killed.
The medical examiner estimated that Wafer shot McBride in the face from behind a locked screen door less than 3 feet away.
Crime scene photos depicted McBride lying face-up with her legs facing the door on the front porch. She wore black boots with heels, and the sole of her left boot was damaged.
Witnesses said McBride appeared injured after hitting a parked car about 12:57 a.m. There was damage to her windshield consistent with one's head striking it. Kesha said the blow might have caused a brain injury and unpredictable behavior. McBride didn't stay at the crash scene and emergency personnel, police or an ambulance, didn't arrive until 40 minutes -- or later -- after the crash.
None of the witnesses or attorneys addressed what happened to McBride between the crash and her shooting.
On the way out of court Thursday, Wafer's attorney, Mack Carpenter, said there are no theories as to McBride's whereabouts during the time lapse.
She had been drinking, testified two witnesses, Davonta Bynes, a 25-year-old coworker and friend, and Amber Jenkins, who said she's McBride's best friend since eighth grade.
Bynes said he spoke to McBride on the phone and in text messages. As the night progressed she began slurring and he told police he had concerns that someone might have drugged her.
Jenkins began drinking and smoking marijuana blunts with McBride about 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. on Nov. 1, hours before her death. They played drinking games using cards in which the loser consumes a shot of alcohol.
McBride, at one point, accused Jenkins of cheating and an argument ensued.
"We were just getting louder and louder and I was getting a headache so I just told her I'd see her tomorrow," Jenkins said.
By the time she left around 9 p.m. they'd consumed about a half-pint of $12 New Amsterdam vodka, she said.
Cheryl Carpenter, the other attorney defending Wafer -- the other is her father, Mack Carpenter -- says Wafer felt a reasonable threat, that McBride was "violently" slamming the front door, enough to dislodge the screen, and the Michigan Self-Defense Act gives homeowners the right to use deadly force if they fear great bodily harm, death or sexual assault.
"We don't believe intent was proven by the prosecution in this case and we really look forward to trial where you will get all of the evidence," Carpenter said after Thursday's hearing. "We just wished all of the evidence could have been presented to the public."
Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Hagaman-Clark called that statement "ridiculous." She said if Wafer feared for his life, why wouldn't he first call 911 before opening the front door and opening fire with a pistol-grip, 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun from point-blank range.
"Shotguns are meant to kill," she said.
Shawn Kolonich, a firearms expert with the state police, said Wafer's 12-gauge, pistol-grip Mossberg shotgun with buckshot ammunition could not have accidentally discharged, based on hammer tests he performed on the weapon.
The case now transfers to the Wayne County Circuit Court for a yet-to- be-determined arraignment.
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