Man Sentenced To 50 Years For Killing Ex-Girlfriend After Playing Guns N' Roses Song About Murder
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) –Authorities said that a Costa Mesa man was sentenced to 50 years to life for murdering his girlfriend after he played a Guns N' Roses song about killing a former lover.
Thomas Michael Wilhelm, 53, was found guilty on Nov. 30, 2016, of one felony count of first-degree murder. A sentencing enhancement was added to the charge for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.
Authorities said that around 6:30 p.m. on July 8, 2012, Wilhelm stole a gun from a neighbor's house.
The defendant then returned to his own home to kill his former girlfriend and business partner of three years, 45-year-old Christine Murray.
The victim sent text messages to a friend eleven minutes before her murder stating Wilhelm was drinking alcohol, loudly playing and singing along to a Guns N' Roses song with the lyrics, "I used to love her, but I had to kill her."
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Wilhelm entered the victim's bedroom, chased her into the bathroom, and shot the victim six times. Since he had run out of ammunition, Wilhelm returned to his neighbor's home, stole a shotgun, and fired one round into the ground as he unsuccessfully attempted to shoot himself.
Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) officers arrived at the defendant's home minutes after the initial shooting in response to third party 911 calls. Officers heard the shotgun discharge in Wilhelm's neighbor's back yard when they arrived, and they made entry into the victim's residence.
They found Murray in her bedroom, unconscious with multiple gunshot wounds to her chest. CMPD officers arrested the defendant and recovered the firearms.
The victim was rushed to Western Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
At Wilhelm's sentencing letters containing victim impact statements were delivered to the court pursuant to Marsy's Law.
The victim's oldest son wrote about his mother and how he and his siblings no longer have their mother. He stated in part, "One of the most devastating feelings I've ever felt in my life, is when you forget, just for a minute that she's gone, and you pick up the phone to call them and remember in that instant. I still struggle every day not to let it get me down. I still have break downs. I still stumble and fall without her in my life. I still miss her."
The victim's former husband also wrote on behalf of the victim's children. He wrote about how difficult the children's lives have been after their mother's murder and how difficult it was for him to tell the youngest child about his mother's death."
