ACCUSED MURDERER RETURNS TO CALIFORNIA LATE SUNDAY

Christopher Lee, the man accused of murdering Erin Corwin of Twentynine Palms, and dumping her body in a 140-foot mine shaft east of the city, returned to California late Sunday. The 24-year-old murder suspect was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail. The Desert Sun newspaper reports that Lee’s lawyer said he advised Lee not to fight extradition from Alaska because the end result would be the same: he would be returned to San Bernardino County sooner or later. Christopher Lee is scheduled to be arraigned in Joshua Tree Superior Court within the next few days. Lee, a former Marine who was stationed at the Twentynine Palms Marine Base but moved to Alaska in July after his honorable discharge, was Corwin’s neighbor on the Twentynine Palms Marine Base and her alleged lover. Corwin’s body was discovered by Sheriff’s investigators August 16, and Lee was arrested by Alaska police August 17. If convicted of Erin Corwin’s murder, Lee could be sentenced to life without parole or the death penalty.