With No Body Found, Porter's Boyfriend Says He's Holding Out Hope
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - The boyfriend of a 19-year-old woman police believe has been murdered is still holding out hope that she will return, despite the fact that he says her friend confessed to him that he killed her.
Jessie asked that CBS4 not use his last name and requested that his face not be shown during his interview. He said his world went dark when Lea Chali Porter, of Pueblo, went missing. He described her as a "beam of light."
"She was just funny, smart, beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, and about to go somewhere in life," he said. "She had everything going for her."
Despite the fact that there has been no body found, Christopher Waide, 23, of Westminster, faces charges that include first-degree murder, sexual assault and tampering with evidence.
Porter was visiting Waide at his apartment earlier this month when she disappeared. Her car was still sitting in the parking lot outside the apartment but her personal possessions were gone. Porter hadn't used her cellphone since June 3 and her social media accounts and credit cards haven't been active since then.
Out of respect to Porter's family and the work police still have to do, Jessie said in his interview with CBS4 he didn't want to talk about specifics with the case against Waide, but he did share strong feelings about the man who he says lied to both him and to Porter's brother Maxx about the disappearance.
"Everything that I know as far as concerning this whole ordeal leads my instincts to believe that though it may be a very small chance, there's a chance that she could still be alive right now. And I know what it looks like. It looks like I'm grasping at straws -- that the bereaving boyfriend can't let go -- and I understand it's going to be perceived that way.
"But at the same time I don't care. I owe it to her. I just won't stop until I'm proven wrong, or right.
"I just think this guy Chris's intelligence and sickness are being underestimated," he said. He says Waide was in the military and also studied criminal justice.
Jessie said after two weeks of lies he and Maxx confronted Waide at a park on June 12 in Westminster and recorded the conversation.
"We stood up and said 'Okay, now you are going to tell us what you did with our Lea. Tell us what you did. You know you want to get it off your chest,'" Jesse said. "And he started to confess."
Westminster police arrested Waide that night.
Waide had told CBS4 in an interview a day before the critical conversation that Lea had left his apartment after an argument.
As the case against Waide moves through the legal system, Porter's family and friends are still posting messages to the Help Find Lea Porter Facebook page.
"There is every reason to have hope and still be looking for Lea because the police don't have a body. They cannot say she's definitely not with us anymore," Jessie said. "We need her back, one way or another."
Police have previously confirmed they cordoned off sections of a landfill but won't give specifics on their search for Porter.
Waide waived his right to a preliminary hearing in court on Friday. He is due back in court on July 8.
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