On the night accused shooter Theodore Wafer fatally shot an unarmed woman on his porch, he was overcome with fear, yelling from the backseat of a police squad car: “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God.”
That’s some of what the jury can expect to hear in the highly anticipated second-degree murder trial of Wafer, who is charged with killing Renisha McBride last November after the 19-year-old showed up on his porch of his Dearborn Heights home just before dawn, within hours of crashing her car into a parked vehicle.
The defense says it was self-defense; the prosecution says it was a crime and that Wafer could have called the police instead of opening fire.
■ Video:
Listen to 911 call in Renisha McBride shooting
At a pretrial hearing today, defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter disclosed some of her trial strategy, saying the case is all about fear and the state of mind her client was in the night he opened fire on the stranger who showed up on his doorstep unexpectedly. An autopsy revealed McBride had a high blood-alcohol level.
“This case is about what Mr. Wafer felt like at the time he shot his shotgun. Was it reasonable to be in fear? And in fear of immediate danger? His emotions are critical,” said Carpenter, noting an audiotape of the suspect yelling, “Oh my God” in the back of the squad car.
McBride’s parents were in the courtroom today, seated directly in front of Wafer, who said nothing during the proceeding or after it. Neither did McBride’s parents. McBride’s aunt, Bernita Sphinx, also was in the courtroom. She said she wishes no ill will toward Wafer.
“I don’t hate anybody. I love everybody ... I’m praying for him cause God has this situation,” Sphinx said. But, she added: “I would be satisfied if they would get capital punishment here in Michigan.”
Sphinx said she questions why Wafer didn’t pick up a phone the night McBride showed up on his porch but instead picked up a gun.
“If you have two eyes, you can really see through this,” said Sphinx. “You have a mind. You have eyes. And you should know right from wrong ... The right decision will be made. And it’s going to be made through God.”