Murdered Teen Didn't Attack Suspect, DA Says
BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) - Prosecutors during a hearing on Friday refuted a murder suspect's contention that he killed his victim in self-defense because she attacked him with a knife.
Christopher Waide, 24, is accused of killing Lea Chali Porter, 19, in June, something police say he admitted to in a taped confession.
At Friday's hearing in Brighton, detectives testified that Waide told them Porter was staying at his Westminster apartment this summer and that they had consensual sex. But afterward, they argued after he refused to buy her drugs. Waide told investigators she attacked him with a knife and he strangled her in self-defense.
But prosecutors said Porter was too small to attack Waide, who they said has a dark and troubled past.
Before his alleged confession and arrest, Waide told CBS4 in an interview that Porter left his apartment after the spat over drugs.
"I want her to be safe. I want her to know that I want the best for her," he said then.
Homicide detectives' testimony will determine whether there is enough evidence to continue with a first-degree murder trial even though Porter's remains are still missing.
Detectives told a judge that Waide admitted he killed Porter, placed her body in a duffle bag and then dumped it. Detectives also testified Waide told them he disposed of her wallet, purse and clothing in different trash bins around his apartment complex before police searched the area. Some of her belongings have been found.
After five weeks of searching a landfill, detectives haven't located Porter's body. Waide was arrested June 12 on first-degree murder and sex assault charges -- the latter has since been dropped -- after he allegedly admitted to Porter's brother and boyfriend that he killed her. The conversation was recorded and monitored, police said.
Prior to that conversation, Waide told CBS4 that Porter's disappearance was "a shock to my system."
He said he tried reaching out to her.
"I tried texting her, I tried calling her, left some messages on Facebook," he said then, "and haven't heard anything back from her."
Investigators have said Waide and Porter attended the same high school in Fremont County and had reconnected on Facebook before she went missing. Porter was from Pueblo.
