Ex-Marine admits in court to killing other Marine’s wife

When prosecutor Sean Daugherty asked the 27-year-old Lee if he’s the one who strangled Corwin, he replied, “Yes, I am.”

Corwin’s body was found hidden 100 feet down a mine shaft in a remote area of the high desert near Joshua Tree National Park after a nearly two-month search. She had disappeared in June 2014.

Friends told investigators that Corwin, whose husband was stationed with Lee at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base, believed she was pregnant and that Lee might be the father.

“I made the decision to kill her,” Lee testified Tuesday. “I was controlled by the anger. The hate I felt that day. It was something I never want to experience again.”

Lee said he approached Corwin from behind and strangled her for at least five minutes with a garrote made up of two pieces of rebar and a cord. He said he then dragged Corwin’s body to the mine shaft and pushed her in head first.

Lee’s attorney, David Kaloyanides, questioned his client only briefly, trying to emphasize that the Lee had not planned the killing.

Kaloyanides did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Lee testified that he decided to kill Corwin because he said she had molested one of his family members — the first time that accusation has come to light.

An investigator and a spokeswoman with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the agency in charge of investigating the case, didn’t respond to telephone messages seeking comment about whether they had heard of the molestation accusation before or looked into it.

Closing arguments in the case are set for Wednesday.

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Information from: The Desert Sun, http://www.desertsun.com/

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Ex-Marine admits in court to killing other Marine’s wife

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