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.
- Pearl Jam ex’s anger at Rock Hall snub
- Ozzy taught me how NOT to be dad says son Jack
- Metallica, Tool bassists joke over album delays
- Randy Blythe to auction gold disc for late fan The Duke
