On Thursday, a Detroit judge has ruled that Renisha McBride‘s porch shooter, Theodore Wafer, should stand trial.
Yesterday marked the first day of the preliminary hearing on the shooting of McBride, the 19-year-old who was shot dead while seeking help after a car crash in Michigan.
A Wayne County District Court judge heard testimony on whether to order Wafer, the homeowner who shot McBride on his front porch, to stand trial for the shooting.
Witness Carmen Beasley was called to the stand during yesterday’s hearing to describe the car crash that occurred outside of her home on Nov. 2.
Beasley heard a loud noise outside in the early morning hours of Nov. 2.
She called 911, looked out and saw a car had struck her husband’s vehicle. She then saw a woman holding her hands to her head as she walked away. The woman came back, and Beasley asked if she was OK.
“She just kept saying she wanted to go home,” Beasley said today while testifying in court.
Beasley said McBride appeared to be intoxicated, injured and confused.
“I said ‘Honey, your car is damaged, you’re not going to be able to start the car,’” Beasley said.
She said she saw blood on McBride’s hands and told her she was hurt.
Beasley testified that she called the ambulance, but eventually McBride walked away. Hours later, Wafer called 911 and told a dispatcher he shot someone who was on his front porch and had been banging on his door.
Wafer maintains that the gun accidentally went off. But Detective Sgt. Shawn Kolonich, a Michigan State Police firearms expert, testified that without pulling the trigger, the gun wouldn’t go off.
Wafer faces charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter — death by weapon aimed with intent but without malice, and felony firearm in the death of Renisha McBride, 19. McBride died from a gunshot wound to her face.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy previously said McBride was shot through a screen door. Firearms examiner David Balash, who is retired from the Michigan State Police, testified for the defense that in his opinion, McBride would not have been more than 2 feet from the gun when she was shot.
Assistant Wayne County Medical Examiner Kilak Kesha testified that McBride would have died immediately upon being shot. He said he found no evidence of close range firing based on the lack of soot or stippling.
Prosecutors do not have any more witnesses to call, but Wafer’s defense is continuing.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest in this tragic case.
SOURCE: Detroit Free Press
