Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday in the murder trial of Theodore Wafer, who shot unarmed Renisha McBride to death on his Detroit-area porch last year, as the defense hammered away at what it suggested was an inadequate investigation.
Wafer, 55, of Dearborn, Michigan, is charged with second-degree murder, but he says he shot McBride, 19, before dawn on Nov. 2 in self-defense. Wafer's lawyers say he felt threatened by the 5-foot-4, 184-pound McBride, who an autopsy found was "extremely" drunk when she knocked on Wafer's door about 4:30 in the morning after she crashed her car.
Defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter contended that Dearborn Heights police Detective Sgt. Stephen Gurka mishandled the investigation because he'd already made up his mind about the case, allowing evidence to get away that could have proven that McBride was trying to break into the home. But on cross-examination Wednesday, Gurka insisted: "It wasn't a whodunit. We had Mr. Wafer saying it was an accident. We had a firearm. We had the victim."
IN-DEPTH
- Renisha McBride Trial Day 5 Recap (NBC station WDIV of Detroit)
- Detroit Porch Shooter First Told Police It Was Accident
- Self-Defense on Trial Again in Porch Shooting
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