Theodore Wafer, the 55-year-old man who shot 19-year-old Renisha McBride to death on the porch of his suburban Detroit home last November after she was involved in an early morning car crash nearby, has been convicted of second-degree murder. From the Detroit News:
The verdict came during the second day of deliberations. Wafer could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
During his 11-day trial, prosecutors characterized Wafer as an angry and paranoid man who kept a loaded Mossberg 500 shotgun after he suspected neighborhood kids were responsible for vandalizing his vehicle with paint balls.
Wafer’s home is in Dearborn Heights; McBride lived in the city of Detroit proper. Wafer is white; his victim was black. He claimed that McBride was “pounding” on his door and that he believed his home was in danger of being invaded when he fired his gun. He was also found guilty of manslaughter and firearms charges.
