Renisha McBride's Alleged Shooter to Be Charged With Murder

Theodore Paul Wafer, 54, is set to be charged with 2nd degree murder.

ByABC News
November 15, 2013, 10:18 AM

Nov. 15, 2013 — -- The man accused of shooting 19-year-old Renisha McBride in the face outside his suburban Detroit home will be charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and possession of a firearm during a commission of a felony, the prosecutor said today.

McBride was believed to be seeking help after being involved in a car accident.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy identified the alleged shooter as Theodore Paul Wafer, 54, of Dearborn Heights.

"We do not believe he acted in lawful self defense," Worthy said at the news conference.

Worthy said that Wafer is not yet in custody and will be turning himself in today. She said he has been cooperative with police and is expected to be arraigned later today.

Worthy said that witnesses reported that McBride was "bloodied, disoriented and appeared to be confused" after the accident in the early hours of Nov. 2 and left the scene on foot.

"Hours later, her lifeless body was found by the police near the porch" of the suspect, Worthy said. "[She was] found with a very large gunshot wound to her face."

Evidence suggested that she knocked on Wafer's locked screen door and that he opened his front door and was inside the house when he fired a shot through the open door, but a still closed and locked screen door, the prosecutor said.

There was no evidence of forced entry to the home, Worthy said.

The prosecutor said that in Michigan someone who claims lawful self defense must have "honest and reasonable belief of imminent death or imminent great bodily harm" to themselves or another person and that the use of force must be necessary to prevent that.

Worthy said her office "obviously" did not feel that the defendant acted in lawful self defense.

Wafer's attorney Mack Carpenter said his client is employed at Wayne County airport where he has the highest security clearance, and that he cares for his 81-year old mother.

Prosecutors requested $250,000 bond, which the judge granted.

McBride's toxicology report released by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday indicated that she had a 0.218 blood alcohol level, which is more than twice the 0.08 legal limit for driving in Michigan.

The report also indicated presence of marijuana in her system and the recommendation for a "confirmatory recheck."

In the audio of 9-1-1 sending police officers to the scene of McBride's shooting, the dispatcher reportedly described receiving a call from a man who said he shot someone on his porch and then hung up.

Listen to the police scanner audio here.

"The family is more concerned in getting a conviction after he's charged than just getting him charged," McBride family attorney Gerald Thurswell told ABCNews.com. "The only way justice will be served is by getting a conviction, not just by filing charges."

The incident has drawn national attention and raised questions for some people about whether the shooting could have been racially motivated.

McBride was African-American. Thurswell believes the media reports that the shooter is a white male are correct.

ABC News' Matt Jaffe contributed to this report