The man accused of killing Erin Corwin, the wife of a Twentynine Palms Marine, made his first appearance in court yesterday in Anchorage, Alaska, his home state. The state of Alaska charged Christopher Lee, 24, a former Marine and neighbor of Erin and Jonathan Corwin in Twentynine Palms, as being a fugitive from justice and the court set his bail at $2 million. Meanwhile, in California, San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos said Lee will be charged with Corwin’s murder with special circumstances of “lying in wait,” which if convicted, means he will be sentenced to either life without parole or the death penalty. Corwin’s body was discovered Saturday afternoon, at the bottom of a 140-foot mine shaft in the Rose of Peru mine, east of Twentynine Palms, and recovered Sunday. Lee’s arrest warrant states that he conducted Internet searches—and also asked someone—on how to dispose of a human body. According to the arrest warrant, investigators recovered at the mine shaft bullet casings and rebar that matched bullet casings and rebar found in Lee’s car and at his residence, along with other evidence. The Alaska Dispatch News reported that Lee asked to speak with his attorney—who practices in California—before making a decision on extradition to California. Ramos said depending on whether Lee waives extradition, his return to California could be in just a few days, or up to four to five weeks. In addition, Ramos told a Los Angeles radio station that Lee’s wife, Nicole Lee, is a “person of interest.” The Sheriff’s Department is investigating to determine if Nicole Lee helped her husband with the murder or conceal it afterward.
