Man listened to Guns N' Roses before killing girlfriend

Guns N' Roses pictured in 1987 (Image credit: Getty)

A court in California has heard how a man listened to Guns N’ Roses hit Used To Love Her before fatally shooting his girlfriend.

Thomas Michael Wilhelm, 52, is charged with first degree murder after he allegedly shot 45-year-old Christine Marie Murray in 2012 when their business partnership and relationship hit the skids.

The prosecution claims that on July 8, 2012, Wilhelm broke into a neighbour’s house in Costa Mesa and stole a .32-caliber pistol before shooting Murray six times.

Around 11 minutes before the shooting, Wilhelm sent a text message to a friend saying that he was listening to Guns N’ Roses track Used to Love Her. It includes the lyrics “I used to love her, but I had to kill her.”

The couple’s relationship soured when Wilhem’s business, Wilhelm Sprinkler Co, was in financial difficulty and he asked Murray to help. He later accused her of trying to take over the business.

According to the Orange County Register, Senior Deputy District Attorney Jim Mendelson says: “They both wanted the other person out of the house. He told her on multiple occasions that he was going to arrange her to see God.”

Wilhelm apparently locked his Great Dane dog away before shooting Murray. Her niece, who also lived in the house, arrived at the home just in time to hear Murray say: “Tom shot me, call 911. I’m dying.”

She was pronounced dead soon after at Orange County Global Medical Center.

Wilhelm’s attorney, Doug Meyers, said his client suffers from mental-health issues and that he self-medicated with alcohol and prescriptions pills.

Meyers says: “Mr Wilhelm did not have the mental state required to be guilty of murder. The evidence will show in those final moments he was not thinking clearly or rationally.”

The trial continues.

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.