why did you pull the trigger gun safety how's that gun safety when you shoot somebody in the head what do you mean meet 20-year-old Christopher John Matthews who doesn't understand the meaning of gun safety or much else for that matter he may have thought he was smart enough to get away with robbing and murdering Tanner banderet but law enforcement is about to discover that the only thing lower than Chris's actions is his IQ and then I started wiping down the car with like Jameson liquor Jameson sometimes I speak through music so like Tiptoe Through The Window on August 13th 2020 at 600 p.m. a woman driving along a stretch of corn fields with her husband in Westminster Colorado noticed something that sent a chill down her spine sticking out of the golden stocks of corn was a pair of shoes when she urged her husband to turn around for a second look a horrible realization washed over them the shoes belong to a man who lay in the dirt with his face turned to the sky his face skin and clothing were smeared with red and it was clear he had been dead for hours using fingerprint analysis law enforcement determined that the deceased man was 20-year-old Tanner banderet a local with a passion for sports the outdoors and trying new things his zest for life and his youth had gotten him into trouble with substance abuse in recent years but despite that he maintained his Gentle Spirit and hope for the future his ties with substance and dealing left law enforcement with several different suspects to explore one of whom was Christopher Matthews the last person who called Tanner Chris maybe could have fallen off the radar except for the fact that when police tried to question him about his whereabouts on the night of Tanner's murder he told them that he was asleep the whole night and had loaned his car and phone to a girl named Jesse FK after searching all databases available detectives quickly discover overed that Jesse didn't fing exist when law enforcement asked Chris if he could bring them a photo of Jesse he told them that he was going to be in Las Vegas in various hotels for the next month so he couldn't with that Chris promptly fled the state of Colorado which is one way to turn yourself from a potential suspect into a prime suspect after questioning Chris's brother Aaron and girlfriend Tara law enforcement learned that Chris had confessed to both of them that he had killed a man and dumped him in a field law enforcement monitored Chris's movements via cell phone towers for several days they watched as he traveled to Arizona and Nevada to evade capture and then oddly returned to Colorado where he knew he was wanted using the warrant issued law enforcement quickly apprehended Chris and took him into custody for questioning the footage you're about to see was provided for us by the Westminster police department in Colorado our team of interrogation experts and forensic psychologists have thoroughly analyzed it to give you a deeper understanding of the mental state of both our suspect and the officers who are pursuing Justice water Dr No Good okay all right just have a seat we'll be here there's some paperwork procedural stuff we have to do and take care of and then my partner and I'm com and talk to you okay all right you doing okay shook up I can imagine I can imagine we we'll come in here and promise things will feel a lot calmer okay I know room sterl and that kind of thing but we're going to be okay you want a mask uh no I'm not okay um actually if I could take you up on that water though yeah seriously man I'm not asking just to ask we'll get you some water all right what Waterman yeah you see this is my partner detective koun how you doing nice to meet you nice to meet you see I was I didn't talked to him so we knew that you might want that all right we'll be back in just a few minutes okay just hang tight if you need anything offers right here anything you anything you the bathroom I just peed while at the gas station okay okay be very long all right thank you Christopher Matthews is anything but calm cool and collected as the interrogation begins surely the detectives have paperwork to collect but in addition they're likely using this time to watch how Chris reacts to being left alone with his thoughts while it will become clear that thinking isn't Chris's strong suit the signs of anxiety he's showing such as resting his head bouncing his Limbs and struggling to answer the detective's questions aren't doing him any favors in the Innocence Department innocent suspects rarely react with such elevated levels of anxiety all right Chris sorry to make you wait to long here you in the FL yeah thank you I introduce myself out there you okay yeah okay introduce myself out there detective Garcia it's my partner detective C oh he's the one I told you about that would be with me when we come up and talk to you yeah we appreciate you being Whoppers you have so yeah uh so what your last name for me m a t t h e WS okay so we basically just have to go through some paperwork just so that you're aware of all your rights and that sort of thing okay have you seen that on TV before when they do that yeah like that excuse me Chris is really showing his anxiety here belching is a symptom of extreme anxiety due to the hyperventilation that can occur with the spike of adrenaline and cortisol known as the stress hormones Chris has every reason to be stressed because pretty quickly he makes it clear that despite being on the run for days he hasn't thought very far ahead so tell tell us your side man what's why do you think you're here why do I think I'm here yeah uh cuz my car was was in a crime scene what kind of crime scene was that what do you think um it stated on your paper uhhuh so okay I guess you guys are investigating a murder of Tanner how do you know Tanner anyways uh friends of friends did you go to Legacy at all no is that it okay cuz you went to Legacy right I went I went to Frederick is that oh he still up there huh yeah FR mom I I'm not exactly sure I didn't know him well oh okay how long have you known him though I mean just is an acquaintance maybe not two or three years two or three years yeah and he was more of an acquaintance back then yeah I was like just friends of friends okay I'd see him in the Halls whatever Christopher's response when law enforcement asked him what crime scene his car was found at is telling he responded it's stated on your paper to avoid answering the question and put some distance between himself and the crime as he tells law enforcement about his background with Tanner he continues trying to maintain that distance he states that he and Tanner were just acquaintances and that he would drive Tanner around to pick up substances but they had barely talked in quite some time after some chitchat about his relationship with Tanner detectives returned to the subject at hand his murder in this time Chris has a story he's ready to tell unfortunately for him it's an utterly ridiculous one you said that you know that you're here because somebody borrowed your car is that what you said yeah you told a different detective that right over the phone I I told the detective that over the phone yeah yeah and tell me about that so basically honestly I'm just going to come forth and tell you that was a lie okay okay appreciate that yeah and we've done a lot of work so we kind of already knew that but I think this is your opportunity to be as candidate as possible and just tell us what happened man we want to know your side he was in the car with me T was yeah where'd you pick him up uh posos and 116 there yeah okay so what happened and then we drove down to posos we hit the 71 and then we're driving back and then he tried to reach for a gun huh for what gun for for my gun he tried to reach for your gun yeah where was your gun at my gun was in the center console just sitting there yeah is it the gun that's in the car now no it's a different gun okay and what happened uh basically he reached for it and then I I shot him how do how'd that go down cuz he was shot right here yeah so what how did how did that happen there's more there's a whole lot more that happens when you shoot somebody in the head so what give us details we struggled for a bit I mean I was driving down the road and then he he reached for a gun and it was self-defense sure so tell me did he say anything no when he reached for it he just yeah he just reached for it did he actually get a hold of it no I got a hold of it first you just saw him reaching toward it yeah and then what happened and then I shot him you were in your car still driving where was that at or exactly what do you think that posos posos and what like cross streets 116th like 116th in PS it was still by those apartments yeah okay so then what happened and then I I didn't know what to do I was scared sure just shot somebody in your car scary yeah so what' you do I should have took him to the ER thinking about it yeah but what did you do I took him to a field okay I didn't know what else to do I bet you panicked at that point huh yeah I'm pretty scared too that's a long ways to drive it was he dead right away yeah really and I I I I don't know I was just freaking out yeah sure yeah tell us about that man I mean walk us through walk us through the emotion cuz I told you in the beginning there's two stories tell us tell us your version tell us everything I mean I want to be with you and in the car help us understand the self-defense part of this yeah you're who else is just you you him the car or there somebody else in there no there's nobody else in the car okay so what tell us tell us what happened he reached for my gun I grabbed it and then I pointed at him and shot him in the head what did he do when he pointed at him what what did he do when he pointed at him he tried to grab it you tried to grab it when you were pointing it at him yeah so did you guys struggle over the gun not not like terribly but he grabbed I don't even remember that's okay go ahead yeah take your time he tried to grab it and then I I grabbed it and I went like that okay so you're in the driver's seat Point finish did you touch his head with it not I I don't have any idea if I touched his head with it or not okay so he's you point the gun in his head yeah what did he say anything I mean he was trying to reach for my gun but did he see like don't shoot me or anything or he was trying I don't know honestly it it's it's memories that I've rep repressed true yeah it's a very this is really important to get this all out I mean this is really for your benefit you know so and we appreciate your your cander so so what how did how did you shoot this guy what happened I I just remember picking up the gun after he he tried to grab it and then I pointed it at him and shot him and then after that I was just like I I don't know what to do I don't know what to do I don't know what to do absolutely I totally get that and then you drove a long ways I you de guy on the side of your other side of your car you're freaking out yeah I was like I don't know what I don't know what to do yeah sure at that point it's like do I bring him to the ER or what like he's sitting there gargling he's gargling yeah really just blood all over the place is there a lot of blood yeah did he get on YouTube uh yeah I got on one of my shirts okay so what' you do you drove South obviously yeah and then I don't know I was just like I I found a field and I was like I don't know if I should just put him here that's what was going on in my head at that moment yeah and then I put him in the field and I was just like freaking the fck out gu cuz killing somebody whenever you kill somebody it's just it you're never the same after it sure you probably haven't been sleeping much since then no not really so when you got to the field what happened that from there walk us through that um basically I grabbed him out of the car and then I pulled him into the corn field I don't know what what kind of field it was but I dragged him into the field and then that was it and then I jumped back in my car okay when you drug him into the field was he still gurgling or was he he was out he was out by then no and then I took off my shirt while I was driving to cover his head oh you did yeah good what just cuz I don't know I I just what you see after you shot him is is trauma like I I try not to go back into it yeah I understand unfortunately we're going need to go through it and some detail today and I know it's traumatic to have to relive it but these things really happened and you can't take it back right I mean it's something that went bad but we you have to own own your part of it it is what it is right like there's nothing we can do to make that go away this is something that that happened yeah and so we just put the whole story out of what happened and then cuz we wer know we weren't there like we we knew we knew that you shot this guy you know we weren't we didn't really know the context of how that happened like if we didn't know if you're like cold blood execute this guy or if there was some I wouldn't do that if unless my life was in danger Christopher's choice to instantly label his murder of Tanner as self-defense raises some red flags and the story itself doesn't make much sense in the first place he claims that Tanner reached for the gun while Chris was driving yet somehow Chris managed to grab the gun first then instead of stopping the car or moving the gun Chris chose a scorched Earth approach shooting his friend while he continued to drive while Chris is spectacularly failing this interrogation law enforcement is doing a phenomenal job of using a reframing and normalization technique to create a safe environment where Chris will feel like there on his side by minimizing Chris's crime and pretending to understand his perspective they're likely making him more open to talk and boy does he but he never touched the gun right he what he never he never touched that gun right he was reaching for it but so he just grabbed it out and then shot him yeah so was the agreement how much was the agreement for the money for the for the SS yeah uh it was 12200 and I paid him 1,200 oh it wasn't a th000 I I don't know I I'm getting different numbers mixed up from different people okay how much money did you go there with uh I had 1,400 on me 1, 1400 on you yeah and how much did you give him I gave him 12 okay and then after you gave him the 12 did he give you the he reached for the gun right after you gave him the money yeah where was where was your gun was just sitting out in the open or yeah it was sitting in the center console okay what kind of gun was it uh it was a block 30 okay where is that gun now I don't know I you got rid of it I got rid of it yeah and and how'd you get rid of it uh I traded it for the revolver okay and who' you do that with uh my friend it's okay we we might already know this we need to hear it from you though I prefer not to share the name of it well this is the thing though is is you're being very cooperative and and good with this and that's great but to help other people that are associated you probably want to keep them out of it right don't want them to get in trouble but this is what I'm telling you a lot of times detectives and just giving you a little bit of a clue we ask you things we already know so we need to cooperate their stories does that make sense yeah because if they're lying then guess what they're helping you and they could go down for this too does that make sense yeah okay so who did you trade it with uh my friend Trevor Trevor yeah and what's Trevor's last name uh I think it's like wi Cliffe Trevor wincliff something like that I don't know it's okay last thing so you just traded straight across yeah didn't you have any idea why you're were trading guns or anything he had the revolver and he's been wanting the 30 for forever so he just knew it was a good he thought it was a good tree did he know what happen while you're trading him no did he know shot him somebody with it no see that's why we need to get that back we want to have him walk around with a gun with a body on it you I guess he's already got it gone too oh he already sold it he already sold it okay and then there is an extended magazine in my car for it okay what caliber is that 45 okay was that clip in it that day when that accident happened it's very convenient that Chris's friend Trevor already got rid of the murder weapon it seems like Chris believes that once law enforcement thinks the weapon is out of his hands and floating around in the criminal underground they'll give up looking for it just hours after this interview detectives contacted Chris's friend Trevor to discover that he and Chris hadn't talked in several years and were former co-workers not friends So that's fast forward from there I know that I can imagine that things are just chaotic and and I'm in complete panic mode at this I I can seriously see that I can imagine that I can see it yeah so from there what happened what' you do um I I drove around aimlessly with him in there no dropped I I I didn't know what to do yeah sure I was freaking the [ __ ] out I would too and then I went to Tara's house did you go straight to her house or did you go home for change I I think I went home first to change okay cuz then you talked to Tara for a little bit right uh I don't know did she call you wait Tara that night uh right before you went over I think I called her okay I'm not not exactly sure on details so she went home and changed and then you went to her house I believe so that's what happened yeah and then what happened and then from there I I was like I just killed somebody you told T that and then what happened I don't I don't really remember okay I I I was like at a you're still panicking I'm still panicking but like it was like a weird panic and it was like I'm freaking the out mentally and then from there it's just I I don't I you just kind of went into survive mode is that a fair way to put it yeah and like I don't know sometimes whenever I'm like I try to turn [ __ ] into humor mhm cuz if I turn it into humor I hope that it'll get my head out of that and like but how'd you do it on that one I don't even remember yeah I I I think I just started trying to like turn humorous brain on to get rid of trauma yeah that makes sense but how'd you learn how to do that I I don't know I just feel like I I I've always thought that like laugh and like humor is better than you know sitting and complete Terror and just that makes sense and that's how you were filling up until then yeah I was freaking out and then I showered and like I started to collect myself a little bit after I showered but I'm still like trembling is it T's house no that was at my house you showered at your house I believe so turning to humor is a standard coping mechanism when someone is faced with trauma though in Chris's case it's serving as a ulation technique to maintain his comfort and avoid feeling any guilt or remorse about shooting Trevor we've established that Chris is no criminal mastermind and his decision to immediately tell his girlfriend Tara that he killed someone only further backs that up but it's what Chris tells detective's next that leaves them utterly speechless not because of how terrible it is but because of how naive it is where did you start cleaning up your car at did you just leave it at your house did you clean it at your house or where did you how did you did you clean up your car uh I I cleaned it mainly in the garage of my house or my I don't want I no longer live there where was that at which one's that uh I don't know it's by West Lake by West Lake okay over off Grove yeah so you drove into the garage there yeah I parked it in the garage did you usually park in the garage there oh yeah all the time okay okay I paid an extra $50 for the garage that makes sense and then tell me about that tell me about cleaning the car what was going through your head I was like this this car I don't know I was just like I have to drive this car to get tuned from work and handle what I need to handle but at that point I was like a complete panic mode uh I grabbed rags and then I I started wiping down the car with like Jameson I didn't know what else to use I liquor Jameson yeah okay why why did you use that I I have no idea do you think it would like be like antiseptic or something or because of alcohol I I don't know it was just the only thing I had okay I mean that's why your car smells so goofy huh the only thing goofier than the smell of Chris's car is his choice to try and clean up a crime scene with whiskey perhaps this goes without saying but using Jameson is not an effective method to remove evidence at 40% alcohol by volume it's woefully incapable of concealing blood fingerprints or other DNA evidence that a criminal wouldn't want at a crime scene so what did you cleaned it in the garage at your house yeah were and you ran a room there what you rent a room there I did you did and that's so you cleaned it there correct and then you got most of it clean there yeah okay what' you do with the rags and stuff there what uh I threw them in a dumpster what uh it was like a one of the home builder dumpsters okay why' you do that near West Cliff West like there yeah okay why'd you do that why did I throw them out and then why' you put a home builder dumpster just cuzz when my dad uh we lived off Suns set place and it was a brand new Housing Development and we just got used to like throwing all of our boxes and anything we didn't really need and did you throw away to get rid of the evidence basically the blood I that makes sense yeah okay that's fine you don't want to be carrying around a bunch of bloody Rags I don't know what to do with a bunch of bloody Rags sure sure and so did you get the majority of it clean there yeah for the most part okay and then from there you went to terce yeah okay and did you stay the night there did you sleep there yeah okay when you told her what did she say how' she react to this she she continued to like console me just help you try to come out of panic okay so then that's fast forward a little bit you took a nap there you slept there I slept there for a little bit okay and then what happened and then I I don't really know what happened from there um I just continue to stay at our house and go about regular business okay you guys left though that next day right from her house I'm not exactly sure well when you left her's house where did you go from there what day the day after the day after uh what did we do the day after yeah I honestly don't remember okay did you go to where your mom used to live oh yeah tell me about that uh so basically we went to where my mom used to live and we she was doing her own thing and I was in the garage trying to clean the car who is she who are you talking about Tara or your mom Tara Tara yeah and then my mom she did didn't even know what was going on she was in the kitchen making food okay and tell me there at at your mom's house yeah what's the street address do you know that address um okay and where did you clean the car at in the garage in the garage did you shut the garage uh I I believe so okay and tell me how the process you went through cleaning it there uh I used a steam cleaner and pulled out the seeds you pulled out the seeds did you pull up the carpet or just a steam cleaner did I pull up the carpet no I didn't replace the carpet his DNA is still in the carpet okay but did you try to pull the carpet out or you just steam cleaned it I just steam cleaned it okay was there still a lot of blood uh yeah and there was like chunks of brain matter where was that at where where was it the brain matter just inside the car was it in the back the front all over all over where was he sitting when you when you had shot him the passenger seat in the front or the back front in the front Okay and this is going to be hard but I I kind of want you to walk me through this just so we can follow this okay you're doing really good you are and if you need some water take a drink do you need some more is it gone sorry okay we'll get some I'll get you some we'll get some excuse my reach Chris reaching for his cup immediately after long enforcement suggests he take a drink is a great tell for detectives that Chris fawns to Authority and has a malleability to things they suggest this will make it easy for them to get answers that being said the answer that Chris is about to give is perhaps one of the most ridiculous they've ever heard so when you lean back you grab the gun and you you demonstrated show me how that was was it a reach out when you shot him or you hear how show me your body position he's right here okay say I'm I'm in the passenger seat right now he reached for it and then I went like that you're in the passenger seat no okay so Tanner's in the passenger seat I'm Tanner right now he goes for the gun and then I'm driving and then I go I grab the gun from the center console cuz I saw him reaching for it and then I shot him and when you shot him what was his body position what was he doing was he just sitting there show me how he looked when that happened I think he was trying to reach for it like slightly okay so it was slow like you reach really slowly for it I don't know like it's just like you're you're not trying to grab it quick like mhm but like you're trying to grab it I don't know so he didn't like lunge for it you just kind move his hand that way yeah and then you grabbed it and shot him yeah cuz like you you don't reach towards the center console where a gun's at or another man's guns at sure okay why' you decide to pull a trigger I was always told with gun safety if you're going to aim a gun at anybody if you point a gun at somebody in gun safety your intent is to shoot them yeah so that was your intent I mean it wasn't it it wasn't like if if you point a gun at somebody you have to be in the position to where your life is in danger enough and why was your life in dang because he was reaching for my gun okay how far away did his hand get from the gun you think it'd be easier to show like in my car but I don't know maybe like 4 in from the gun okay the he kind is about 4 in from the gun yeah going kind of slow towards it yeah okay help so and just kind of going back to it so he's sitting in the passenger seat yeah you grab the gun first walk slowly through that what happens from there what does he do he he reached for the gun first so after yeah after he does that yeah but you get the gun first and then then what happens from that and then I pointed the gun at him and when you did that what did he do I I don't know you turn away from you or it it all happened cuz he got hit right here so he must have been looking away from you it all happened in the blink of an eye honestly it was very quick yeah and I just remember remember gunshot blood splatter and then gargling and how long did that occur the gargling I don't know five 10 minutes he was Garling a car for 10 minutes yeah was that why you were driving what do you mean is that why I was driving is that while you were driving sorry I talked kind of fast like I said before so forgive me yeah that was wow I was driving God that must been pretty scary yeah it's freaking me out imion so did you see so you shot him you saw where you had shot him and then where all was he bleeding from I I don't couldn't tell no I I was just trying to figure out what to do at that point and try to I don't know in that point I was at pan panic mode complete panic mode you said you covered him with your shirt yeah I took my shirt off and I covered his face as you were driving yeah okay I don't know where is that shirt I don't know it should be in the dumpster as well with everything the yeah gun safety is generally in place to prevent you from shooting people but it seems Chris took the rules a bit too literally perhaps the most important rule in gun safety lessons is never Point your gun at something you do not intend to shoot which is supposed to deter you from aiming your gun at people or houses Chris on the other hand seems to believe that if you point your gun at something you have to shoot it unfortunately for him that will probably not hold up in court his repetition of I don't know also isn't going to help him when things move to trial it's likely that Chris remembers the answer to everything that law enforcement is asking him but by evading giving them answers he can mentally distance himself from being culpable but that's going to get harder and harder to do as law enforcement begins to ask questions about what happened when he picked Tanner up the night of the murder so then you guys get in the in the car explain that part of it to me when he first gets in the car mhm how does the deal go down do you do it right there do you drive off a little bit or yeah so basically when I when I parked I saw a white Dodge mhm and it looked like it had cameras on the side and I was like bro like your house just got raided today like I don't want to do this whatever but he's like no no we're good we're good just just pull up to the gas station up there and I was like okay cool whatever I I'm here might as well do it yeah and then we went to the gas station and then we drove back to the apartment so we drove from 116th yeah down to posos because there was a cop right there and then we drove back that way back which way uh back to the apartment oh okay and we hand to handed it in the in the middle of the street on posos or in the apartments um on in posos okay still right around 116th right yeah and then when that happened you gave him the money is that correct yeah I gave him the money while we were going down poos okay and then he reached for my gun was there argument or anything did he say did you say where's the at or you know I I was like where is it at and then you know what and then he reached for my gun okay so there was was there an argument or a just maybe even like a going back and forth a little bit about the money and the I kind of not really basically he he was I don't know necessarily like where he was at with his life mhm in that moment and like his entire house just got raided sure so like I'm not sure if he was like in a spot where he was like you know what like I'm going to I'm going to take this dude's [ __ ] cuz I'm in a position to where where I'm not okay so I'm not sure if that's what I I don't know but we didn't really exchange words he and I never really exchanged words ever what about then though was there you gave him the money am I correct on that yeah I gave him the money and I was like Dude where's my [ __ ] and then he reached for the gun okay that's what that's where I was getting at that's what I was wondering okay and then that's what everything else take place yeah okay um and then that's let's keep going with that so then everything happens you panic you go to the field yeah and when you pull him out he's gurgling as you're driving uhuh and I'm just recapping cuz I need to make sure it's all flowing right in Mind Correct for wrong yeah this is I'm just putting together what you told me and I'm seeing if I'm interpreting it correctly okay you're driving he's gurgling I take it he's bleeding yeah and how is he sit is he is he leaned over is he leaned over towards you what's uh he was leaned over this way and then at one point we went around a turn he was leaning on me so I pushed his head over and then grabbed my shirt off and put it over him yeah and was he still gurgling at that point I I believe so okay and you're driving by now where do you think you're at when you're driving in the shirts over his head don't really remember what street I was at okay and let's rewind just a little bit um when this happens where's your phone at where's my phone at yeah my phone was with me with you yeah okay and did you turn it off I I don't remember I think my my phone was pretty close to dead okay cuz I was listening to music and I hadn't charged my phone all day I was charging my airpods instead of my phone so you were playing music through your phone on your on your car through your car is that right through Bluetooth or something I I think so okay did it St playing in at that point or tell me about that my phone was like 5% or low battery okay did it shut off then yeah it did and were were you at the apartment still when that shut off yeah Chris has repeatedly avoided mentioning things he did to cover up his crime in an attempt to look more innocent in reality though it only makes law enforcement more certain of his guilt if you recall he told law enforcement that he didn't know why he threw away the rags when it was an attempt at getting rid of evidence now he's claiming that his phone miraculously happened to die when he picked up Tanner remember this is a man who law enforcement watched turn his phone off and on for weeks in a feudal attempt to avoid being tracked in addition Tanner's phone was turned off nearly the same time that Chris's supposedly died it's clear Chris hasn't really thought of the implications of that when you see the field what happens where you at and what happens are you driving down Federal down l i I think it's Federal okay and then I was like okay well I see a field I don't know what else sure to do and then what happened and then I drove into the field and then I got out of my car walked over and pulled him by I believe his wrist I'm not exactly sure where I what part of the body I dragged him out by okay I assume he was still bleeding did he get blood on you uh yeah and then I went home and took a shower how did you get out this is going to sound silly but I was I was at I saw him when he was in that field yeah um how did you get out of your car like did you get out of your door out of the passenger door how' you get out I got out of the pass or the driver's side and then where did you go and then did you go around the front or the back or I don't honestly remember kind if I went around the front or the back okay cuz there's a couple different sets of shoe prints over there and so it made me kind of feel like there's another person really there was with you no there was nobody else with me okay you remember what kind of shoes you wearing uh I think they were Vans okay were those uh they're in a dumpster okay so you threw away all your clothes yeah okay this is going to sound silly what side shoe do you wear I have no idea I kind of varies on which ones it is okay so then you leave and then you go to your house you shower your change mhm was it before chairs that you threw your clothes and the rags that you cleaned the car out with or when did you do that was it before you went to terz directly after you showered and changed uh I think I waited a while I I waited like a day or two before you threw that away yeah I was just kind of sitting in my trunk okay and then you went back and threw it away over there yeah because you knew there was construction there yeah okay um and when you were at Terrace and then you went to your mom's house and you cleaned there mhm right um at what point did eron show up at your house I don't remember was it that day yeah okay and then what happened from there uh he started questioning what the I was doing MH and I was like dude I I just killed somebody and I when was that what when you told her in that right then and there when he when he started freaking or before he started freaking out was that at your mom's house yeah okay yeah so what what you tell you to do cuzz he's got a little more experience with now he got out of prison right yeah so did you were you trying to get some advice from him no I was just like dude I mean like kind of yeah I was like dude like I don't know how to deal with this like mentally I don't know I was asking him for like Mental Health not really like what to do do they give you any advice on like how to cover it up no no uh what did you tell you to do he said dude like you're going to have to deal with it he's okay so basically with all of my other charges that I've had he's always been the one who makes me turn myself in really usually yeah so I had some uding charges okay and he told me bro stop [ __ ] in your dirty underwear like as a metaphorical term right yeah so like don't keep racking up charges after charges after charges just go handle it and get it done with that makes sense so pretty advice Aaron did give Chris some good advice but instead of going to the police Chris continued to sit in as he called it his dirty underwear instead of facing the murder charge he fled the state adding to a long list of charges tell me about that conversation what that he was just like dude you're um I was like dude it self-defense he was like dude like I don't know what to tell you cuz I don't think he's ever killed anybody to my knowledge and then what'd he tell you to do he was like you could either run or you could stay here and face the consequences he told me I should probably just stay and get it done and over with because you guys are G to catch up to me eventually and then what happened what' you do uh from there I just hung out for a couple days where at uh Tara's house most of the time there most of the time and then what led you to leave to leave MH I don't remember honestly did you leave that night or close to the first couple of days did you take off then yeah I took off to uh Arizona went to Chloride where's that at uh it it's this town's name is chloride a mining town chloride chloride yeah it's a what town it's a mining town like a old mining town why'd you go there I don't know I just did you know it have you been there before no I I don't know I was just like okay I need to clear my mind I need to get this out of my head and go do something and maybe run cuz like I didn't I didn't know what to do I didn't know I I didn't want to continue to I lied obviously over the phone to the other detectives nobody borrowed my car is me sure but I sometimes fessing up to it it's hard yeah respect you for it so when you talk to that detective is that when you left were you scared after you talked to him and you're like oh the cops just called me yeah and did you leave directly after that uh I think so I was like oh [ __ ] I got to get out of here and then I went to chloride and then my mom met me in Laughlin and we went gambling and in yeah where' you gamble at uh hara's gold nugget all over did you wi anything uh no not not too much not too much I mean I was just kind of bouncing I'm not supposed to gamble at 20 but yeah I just tell him I left my ID in my car Chris may not be good at lying to investigators but he is very good at digging himself and everyone around him into a deeper hole not only did he admit earlier that he cleaned his car at his mom's he is now telling detectives that his mother met up with him and likely helped him while he was on the run it takes a unique criminal to give cops enough evidence to arrest their own mother for aiding and abetting in addition going gambling after you've admitted to murdering someone doesn't particularly make you look innocent especially when you're going gambling illegally on top of that uh from Laughlin uh I went to we went to Las Vegas a couple times and then uh I I came out with like a grand off of a machine nice yeah and then my mom was like Hey break me off like I was like all right fine you know what whatever here's 500 bucks oh that's cool yeah and then next thing you know all her money's gone all my money's like I got enough money for gas that I had in my Cadillac uh P like booklet for my operator's manual and I was like I like I don't I don't know what to do like I'm going to go back to Colorado okay and then what happened and then I drove to Albuquerque picked up some hitchhikers on the side of the road hung out in Albuquerque for a day and it was weird um basically the dude was like I need you to it's my birthday I need you to like run and do this and this and this and this and this and I was like okay whatever so I hung out in Albuquerque for a little bit just some random guy you just met yeah he was like Hey dude like it's my birthday you want to party with me I was like okay cool I'll party with you so what' you guys party with uh beer smear knov uh and then they made me hit clear and I try to stay away from clear and black just cuz like that's what my brother was MH mainly addicted to so like that's just the [ __ ] that I scares you a little bit right I mean I've done them but it's just like I don't want to ever do them again but the dude was like you got to hit it you got to hit it so and it was like this big dude so make a a little intimidating yeah so you hit up some when did you do that uh what was that last night last night yeah and where was that at Albuquerque okay drove from Albuquerque to Colorado overnight which way did you go I don't remember I remember I stopped in a couple of state parks okay just cuz I was looking his scenery I like nature okay um so let's rewind back to after Tara's after you leave your mom's on King MH did you go out of state then no and then come back oh yeah I did tell me about that uh basically I went to Gold city and then our Cities of Gold I went to a hotel over there spent a night there and then like lost my wallet or thought I lost my wallet and didn't really lose my wallet so I came back and I was just like okay well I'm just going to wait it out hey Chris I got tell you I'm pretty impressed with your your cander I really respect that I know things went bad but I mean you you volunteered to come talk to us and and uh he did on your own so appreciate that I respect that a lot of people don't have ability to stand up like that so you know I mean I'm not going to say you're and [ __ ] you yeah I me we didn't like threaten you or promise you anything so it's nice that you just took it upon yourself to be honest I think it's cool and it feels good right I mean that's just human nature you've been holding this back for so long it's a very traumatic thing to happen to you sucks feel good to have off chest it it feels good to like actually release the like entire story yes yes exactly and and that's why we're going through it to help you through that process yeah how did this make you feel it drove me like absolutely crazy were you mad or were you like sad or I was getting mixed emotions what were they like I I I just remember it and like I just start sobbing out of nowhere law enforcement does a phenomenal job of continuously making Chris feel as if there on his side which quickly leads to him divulging more information however something tells them that Chris's sobbing out of nowhere may not be completely accurate since he spent multiple days gambling and partying with hitchhikers and then made yet another illogical Choice immediately after then I went camping okay I went camping actually where you guys followed me from okay I was camping up there with some buddies okay why'd you go back up there today just cuz I was like you know what whatever just driving yeah okay I like I like nature okay so then when you come back and then when is it what point did you decide you know what I need to get out of town when was that uh at first like right after I was talking to Aaron he was like either do it now or do it later and I was like do do it later or do it now like leave he was like you have two options here do it now or do it later they're going to find you either way I was like fine I'll just take the later option right so he's saying you should turn yourself in an hour later he he was he was recommending that I turned myself in then and there oh okay but so then you go you go to and you said your mom met you in Laughlin yeah and tell me about that how did all that happen uh what do you mean did you call her say this is where I'm at she'd call you how did you arrange she called me and she's like Aaron's not okay Aaron's in jail this that and another or no that was I don't know she was like where are you where are you come I want to come have dinner and I'm like oh I'm in Arizona she's like what are you doing in Arizona and I was like I don't know did you tell what happened I I didn't want to tell my mom that I killed somebody at that did you tell her though in person yeah when did you tell her when I saw her in Laughlin what' she do she she I don't she freaked out yeah as well just about as much as Aaron did what was her advice to do to do at that point she was like she didn't really have advice for me I mean did she think you should turn yourself in or did she think you should run or she told me to turn myself in she did she recommended it so threat Choice yeah I I should yeah but but then you you go to you stay in Arizona though right you go down and you're staying down in some areas down in Arizona is that correct where' you stay down there where did I stay in Arizona chloride yeah and where else uh I camped you just camped pretty much when you say Camp was it just like pulling over in parking lots or tent parking lots whatever okay just kind of slept different places all the time yeah were you in town or were you outside of town where you're camping uh depending on the scenario okay so the towns cuz we know that you had Pawn some stuff uhhuh what towns were you in with that uh on the way back from Vegas I pwned what did I pawn there a a diamond bracelet um and then I pawned an impact in a drill at the Mr Pond in Laughlin or Bullhead City Bullhead City that's close to Laughlin yeah so and why were you ping those things were you running out of money yeah Mom and I were running out of money and then I was like I need money to get back home so was that her bracelet no it was mine my one of my friends actually gave it to me as a gift that was nice yeah so what what happened to your mom from there uh I don't know she was freaking out and I drove to where we were staying she her car wasn't there so I was just like whatever I'm I'm done I I I'm not going to sit here and wait for her to let me inside of this house you know that a friend was letting us stay at so from there I was like just about to leave ended up sleeping sing in my car one night and then the next night she called me and she was like hey let's meet and then she's like I'm broke and I'm like okay well like I got enough money to get me home so I I was like I could get you home too but then like we got into a fight we're always my mom and I are always in fight what was this fight about the money she always goes gambling loses all the money and then wants to fight about it she's like you lost all my money you know but it's like I think it was a team effort here yeah and it was your money right I mean she came with $3,500 oh okay but I had like a a grand on me MH so and so she lost all her money yeah and where is she now I have no idea where's the last time you you saw her uh bhead City I believe and that's when you left yeah so last night you where did you said you stayed in a where did you stay last night I drove around all night last night you just drove around and then today you were heading to where you camped before yeah and what made you turn around come back uh I don't know I just saw US Government plates all over the place kind of freaked you out a little bit Yeah and then so you're like I got to get out of here it's too much too much heat here yeah did you feel like a lot of heat was on you a lot of pressure this whole time no no when did you start feeling that uh I didn't really feel it when I was out of state okay but as soon as I got into Colorado it was just like heavy yeah like kind of anxiety yeah did you feel like that was a mistake coming back no no it's not you guys deserve to know the story yeah this time kind of being a way um did you ever decide that you know what I'm just going to turn myself in why didn't you do that it was a thought in my mind but why didn't you I mean what why didn't you just come for I'm afraid to go to jail I'm afraid to go to prison like I'm 20-year-old male and E if you guys call it murder if you guys call it self-defense like either way I'm doing time for it why' you bring a gun in the first place why did I bring a gun yeah cuz I always have a had a gun on me what did you mean you think he was going to no I I just I just usually had a gun on me when I did my deals okay were you nervous about Tanner was I nervous about him yeah not really didn't didn't you have an issue with him before no thought they tried to rob you or something no he ripped you off before right no not that I remember cuz we were we were and this is why we're asking because this is stuff we've learned okay and it might not be accurate that's it's good that we're talking about it but from what I understand there was a point even a couple years ago I think they a couple years ago that he uh that he had ripped you off no and then Aaron had to get involved and was like pay my brother back no that didn't happen no okay that didn't happen with him okay anyway that's a story we were told about and so in our mind like it's good we're talking because we had this vision of what happened and I'll be honest with you it's almost exactly what you're telling us was yeah something like this is what occurred and it and so it does make sense to us yeah because it sounded at that time though we were believing that Tanner had ripped you off before so tan never been ripping me off Tanner was always good on his [ __ ] was he okay yeah I mean but don't reach for another man's gun how fast was his arm you think if you could like recreate it show us have to show us I don't know it was like that okay like not super fast like moderate speed okay you want to take a quick break let me get you some water you you yeah he's on water get just warm doing okay you mind if I use a r real quick I'll take you it's okay I always put my hands like this for some reason fair enough helps me straighten out my back there you go feels good to be out the car doesn't it the left it's good that Chris is used to standing that way because after this next round of questioning he's going to be doing it with handcuffs all right man s doing better some more water no okay I think we we're getting there yeah we appreciate you sticking with us we got to get some water too seriously um just some things that we still want to go over and I'm just thinking about it um cuz I'm trying to picture your your car right in the center console area MH describe that to me and and I'm I've been in cadillax before but yeah not yours so is a gear shift in the middle mhm is there like a little cubby hole in front of that like the phones or whatever the cubby hole is small small but if you have the cup holders and if you have nothing in the cup holders usually it sits right there on top of the cup holders your gun does yeah does it have a does the cup holders have like a flap over it it's like a solid you can put whatever there gun foam whatever and it's not going to sink into the cup holders yeah so the gun is sitting on top of that yeah and I don't know it's kind of a fine detail but which way is the gun pointing is it is it sitting so I'm imagining right so here's the console the gun's here yeah is it pointing that way usually I have it pointed out okay was it in the holster no okay do you have one in the in the chamber uh what do you mean do you have round loaded item round was there a bullet inside the usually I've always had a round loaded in okay so it's positioning wise it's just it's right there yeah it's just right there it's not like in the crack of your seat no and it's not in the crack of his seat it was on top of the it's on top to where you can clearly see it yeah he can clearly see that there's a gun right there yeah okay was the flap shut or open the flap was shut so you couldn't see it what do you mean the flap was shut over the gun no the flap just covers the couple oh okay on top just sitting loose on top of it okay that makes sense um and then you know we talked to Tara yeah and um I I'll tell you the same thing I mean I'll just be very honest with you she cares for you and she she doesn't want to be involved but she cares for you so to help us keep her out of this does that make sense tell me exactly what you told her when you went to her house directly after your house honestly I was freaking the out and I she was like I just I just killed somebody and she I I told her right then and there and what'd she say she's like you did what mhm and then she started freaking out but then she caught herself and then she started consoling me making sure I was good okay did you tell her how it happened no I didn't any details you just said that You' killed somebody yeah did you tell her that he' tried to do anything to himself or that any other kind of story or anything like that did he try to do anything to himself yeah did he shoot himself or anything like that you didn't tell I didn't tell her any of that okay you just told her yeah he I shot somebody yeah okay and then she after that started consoling you or trying to calm you down and and be there for you yeah okay yeah that makes sense um so after that and I'm still and we talked about it briefly but I want to come back to it you had taken Tanner's phone or his phone was in the car yeah and his you took his ID uh-huh um did he have a fanny pack or anything else on him or backpack or anything no did he usually no I mean I don't know okay usually he was just wearing clothes we never had a backpack or anything on him okay but that day after that happens mhm what do you do with his stuff with his phone with his ID all of all of it went to the dumpster with your clothes yeah and the towels was all together Y what was it in uh a backpack you put it in a backpack yeah what kind of backpack was it I don't remember there's a black one just a Black Backpack yeah is it something you had in your car your home or yeah where was it at where'd you get it from uh it was a gift it was a gift yeah I don't remember is that backpack did you throw a backpack in there too which the one you put all the stuff in what this clo your clothes and his ID and all that [ __ ] should be in a Black Backpack so you threw away the backpack also yeah so the the rags was everything together or did you separate everything was together and it was all in that backpack yep what day did you throw all that stuff away I don't remember I held on to it for a couple days a couple of days yeah this was after you had showered was it after before or after you went to your mom's house on King uh after after King yeah did you throw stuff away that you had cleaned there as well it was all in the backpack so the stuff from King you also put in the backpack yeah okay um and with that I mean I'm going to let you know we've already been there yeah and there scientific stuff that we do there seem to be a significant amount of blood in the garage and King did is that the way it was still yeah how did all that stuff get all over or was it just it was dinking outside of the car still blood was dripping outside the car yeah whenever you'd open the door it still drip out it would drip out onto the garage is that what happened must been a lot of blood in there oh yeah yeah um so why did you cover his head to explain that to me again I I don't know it just him gurgling in his head and it's a scary sight to see did you cover it so nobody can see him when you're driving around no I just I it's because he was still alive and gurgling I don't know if he was still alive and gurgling but like whenever you have I've never seen that much blood in my life really ever huh yeah I can see that being scary Chris may not have a good track record of telling the truth but sadly the autopsy findings do back up that Tanner was alive and likely making horrible noises as Chris drove around Tanner was shot behind his ear striking and severing the cored artery he did not die from external blood loss rather he died after several minutes of suffering due to the liquid from that artery draining into his lungs essentially Tanner suffocated but Chris isn't done leaving a path of destruction in his wake his own ignorance is about to put his family at risk and it's almost painful to watch how easily law enforcement gets him to throw his family under the bus was there blood over the ground at the at your place too we cleaned it up uh a little bit not much not much why was there more at your mom's house cuz the steam cleaner oh that makes sense cuz you're putting water into it mhm where's that steam cleaner at I have no idea did you leave it there at your mom's it should be in the trash can a dumpster I don't know her dumpster I don't I don't know I I left it there so okay so you left it in her garage yeah you didn't get rid of it uhuh I I spaced it okay it's fine who why would you think it's in ad dumpster or I don't know I just did somebody throw it away for you see I didn't see it I didn't see it when I went back to the house after so so after you cleaned you it also went back again yeah and it was gone yeah so I'm assuming it got thrown away okay by who my brother maybe Mom like a for skin cleaner like a Carpet One it wasn't like a big one it was like small okay last place you saw was in the garage yeah okay sorry that's fine good it was in the garage yeah and then when you went back did you park in the garage again when you went back again I don't think so I think I parked on the side of the street okay but you went into the garage and didn't see it there yeah okay who threw it away for you I think you know you're just trying to help him I mean I I'm not exactly sure if it was my brother or not okay where did he throw it he didn't tell me he just told you you got rid of it yeah did he see you cleaning with it what did he see you cleaning your car with it the steam cleaner yeah yeah you saw that okay that's fine just cares the detectives care because tampering with evidence is a criminal offense not that Chris seems to realize that with what he says next so he got rid of it for you wasn't there and the reason I'm asking is cuz I was there also in the garage and I didn't see it that's why I'm making sure yeah I mean I don't know my brother told me it's gone okay so it it handled were you worried or did you know that you know hey the police are coming to get me how do I avoid capture um how did you do that how did you help yourself stay away from from us what do you mean was there certain things you were doing like what I don't know that's what I'm asking I mean this is just for my future education of of doing my job what did you do to help us not be able to locate you CU you did you kept away from us for a few you know few weeks so what what was it that you did what do you mean like my phone was yeah my phone was off was that on purpose to keep us Fring I couldn't find a phone charger oh most of the time I was trying to stay out of my car you want to stay away from your car yeah and then most of the time I had it off too just cuz like right if you have your phone off you're not able to try location oh is that way you turn it off yeah that makes sense okay and then like you change your plates out I had those plates you did yeah uh I actually went to St Elmo with Tara and bought them at St Elmo oh really yeah gotcha but you change those plates to keep us from seeing it from find H that was that was the hope that was the hope makes sense yes what else do we have um what about uh where where did you stay in P in who's that what house did you stay in in Arizona in Arizon Arizon yeah uh I didn't stay in a house I stayed in uh you said you somebody you put you up for a little bit in a house in Arizona wherein Laughlin yeah that's what it was I'm sorry yeah whose house did you stay in there I don't even remember the lady's name how did that happen like how did you get into somebody's house uh basically my mom's friend lives in Laughlin okay so they so had that all work out well we we were outside of uh the mall my mom and I were yeah and she walks in to go get a Western Union and when she does a Western Union uh basically she walks in and her friend walks out oh and just randomly complete coincidence interesting yeah so what happened uh basically her friend was like hey uh what are you doing here and then they started talking and then my mom was like hey can we stay at your house for a while okay so how long did you stay there uh I stayed there for two or three days okay what was her name uh Suzie I think suie yeah do you know her last name I not really it was nice for her to put you up for a little bit yeah see in hotel manyy yeah okay and that was a friend of your mom's yeah how does she know her how does she know her how does your mom know her yeah I have no idea okay fair enough did Susie ever find out what happened no Susie doesn't know she doesn't know she doesn't know anything okay you don't think your mom would tell her no not even Chris's mom's friends are safe from his naive law enforcement has just added another accomplice to the list because quite frankly his story of running into a friend by coincidence doesn't pass the sniff test and harboring a fugitive is punishable by up to a year in prison let's go back to the gun mhm and when he's he's reaching for it right but he doesn't touch it yeah is that right but in your mind it's sitting here yeah he's kind of his hands going towards it is that right yeah do you say anything to him like Hey don't grab that no you just grab it and I'm walking through this to make sure that I okay so basically he starts to reach for it uhuh and I I don't know whenever I see somebody reach for my gun I immediately grab it okay and then but you grab it yeah and what does his hand do when you when you grab it when you grab it what's his hand do his hand was just like that and then then you grab it and pointed his head right yeah okay does he is it did you have any other guns in the car or just that one I just had that one did he have one one not that I know of did he have like knives or bats or sharp pens or anything no no weapons no okay so you pick it he you said his hand kind of going for it and you grab it to keep from getting right yeah put it in his head yeah and then did he try to assault you at that point or hurt you or no so did he grab your arm or did he grab you well what I don't understand is if if he's you're pointing the gun at his head yeah so he's probably is he like looking away from you yeah okay so that's probably why I came back here right because he's looking away from you when you have the gun to his head M correct me if I'm wrong am I right what do you mean like is that kind of how it was you have a gun to his head and he's kind of looking away like this I I feel like he he knew he was up by reaching for my gun sure okay but so so hang on a second I'm sorry goad go ahead what were you going to say I I feel like basically he was reaching for my done yeah and then I grabb it and then he's like so he looks away from you like that yeah just cuz he he wasn't expecting me to grab it yeah sure he probably doesn't want to get shot yeah so how is he threatening you when you have a gun pointed at his head how is he threatening me threaten by grabbing my gun but once you had a gun at his head and he's looking away from you why'd you pull the trigger cuz he's not a threat to you at that point right what do you mean he grapping my gun in the first place but he didn't have it in in his hands or he didn't touch it and you have him at gunpoint now right right and he's looking away from you cor me if I'm wrong why do you feel threatened at that point yeah why' you pull the trigger these are just some things we need to know gun safety how's that gun safety when you shoot somebody in the head what do you mean so let's let's rewind you said that you felt threatened when he was grabbing your gun yeah and I understand that but you grab your gun okay what do you mean how yeah am I right I grab my gun before he could have my gun in his possession so then from there you have your gun yeah he doesn't have another gun no he doesn't have KN struggle for it right cuz he didn't touch it he was reaching for it though no but once you had in your hand yeah then he's no longer a threat right cuz you can't get your gun Am I Wrong walk us through that what do you mean tell us how you feel push part how' you feel whenever somebody reaches for your gun and usually I don't know what was going through my head yeah but whenever somebody reaches for your gun it it's just it's right there sure so then you grab it though and and it it just go slow through this process you realize it happens like this we do yeah we've been cop for a long time so we understand the quickness of things happening but now is the time to slow it down and let's break it down okay to that moment yeah so now you grab it yeah he doesn't have it you explain he get me tell me if I'm wrong he kind of turns I'm Tanner he turns like oh [ __ ] he's got I made a mistake yeah he's like this you're like this is that correct uhuh where's his where's his arms is is his arms in front of him where's his arms at it this point his arms are is it still here you're motioning like that I think it was like okay but so from there did you feel like you had without a better word you got the draw on him at that point correct so if you're going back to Cowboy stage there two guys coming out with guns at the same time the D you got the drop is that fair to say he died but you beat him to it I'm not trying to put words in your mouth I'm just trying to help you exp trying to understand what your position is yes exactly what happened so and we recognize things happen fast I mean I don't know what what happened in my head was that he was he was endangering my life and at that point when somebody reaches for your gun mhm and in that moment it's the gun's right there sure the gun's right at his head I was quicker to the why did you pull the trigger whenever you gun safety is that gun safety what do you mean don't point a gun at somebody unless you're ready to kill it or anything unless you're ready to fire so if you point so if you're feeling scared and you point your gun at somebody that means you get to kill them no it doesn't mean you get to kill them let me ask you something if I'm a police officer right yeah so say uh say you did Burgery and I see you coming out and I point my gun at you yeah right yeah do I get to shoot you no you don't get to then why did you why did you get to shoot him you're right you don't have to right at that point and that's what would what would be the what would be the position that I would have to shoot somebody what I've always been told is don't aim a gun at anything unless you're ready to kill it okay and I understand that or like so you you ready to kill him you point your gun at him for the fact that he was reaching for my gun so this is this is we're just going to be straight and this is the this is our hangup with this a little bit and help us understand this okay you have the gun pointed at his head right he's looking away from you he's looking away from you he's not assaulting you he doesn't have another gun he doesn't have a weapon explain to me why at that point at that point that particular moment that that spot right there that's pause M it's you know Vision this is the VCR DVD player and you have to hit pause you're like this he's like that his hands are here why did you feel threatened right then at that point for the circumstances of the previous of of his behavior okay but he didn't try to come back and take the gun right it was it wasn't a struggle or fight over it no there was no struggle or fight okay did he even threaten you what do you mean threaten me did he say I'm going to kill you I'm going to kick your ass anything like that I asked him where my [ __ ] was at and then he reached for a gun could he been reaching for your he was reaching for the gun that's what I saw that's what I saw so he was slowly moving his hand towards where your gun was which is right by decided that get to kill him because of that because he's reaching for my gun okay so but there's no other weapons there's no assault of behavior I he doesn't actually reach for your gun once you have it in your hands right no but at that point you know like did he say anything when you put the pointed the gun at him no it was just that quick yeah even after multiple chances to backpedal on his gun safety claims Chris remains steadfast and that being the reason why he shot Tanner his increasing frustration is obvious as investigators pressure him for the first time one officer is about to use a psychological tactic known as alternative scenario presentation where they present other paths that the suspect could have taken urging them to think critically about their actions this is used to weaken their confidence in their original statement and perhaps even express remorse but will Chris okay thinking back now now that we've paused it and we've slowed it down would you have done anything different would I have done anything different yeah I would have probably never had a gun on me in the first place sure but you did I mean that's usually how I how I would always sell that's how people always taught me how to sell and out of a 100 times of doing it nothing's ever happened and then this one time this guy yeah does this yeah but now now that it's all done now that we've slowed it down and we did the dvdr thing pausing yeah you know what I mean like would you have done anything different I wish I didn't pull the trigger you know do you think you you should have pulled the trigger what do you mean I mean do you think that was a good decision for reaching for my gun that that made sense to me in that moment in time in hindsight what do you think in hindsight no you think that was a that was not a good thing to do Heat of the Moment when somebody reaches for your gun near your gun yeah but when you think about it logically okay that's that's that's makes sense it does and we appreciate yeah everything I don't want you to feel like we're trying to push you into something saying something different than what happened yeah for sure I mean' very we're just getting an understanding of what happened yeah we just weren't there things just things happen so all right Chris we we really are almost done we we do have a few more followup things um I'm just thinking about it and I want to be clear about this we talked briefly about the where you dropped header off at the body in the cornfield mhm walk me through that again how did that happen what do you mean by that step by step step by step you're driving down yeah you say it was Federal yeah you see a field yeah and then what happens from there and then from there I was like all right well I don't know what else to do with the body mhm so I put it into the field so tell me what you did with your car what do you mean did you park on the street you pulled into the field I I drove into the field you know what let see that marker what colod you like take a marker there you purple kind of guy all right so let's do federal federal and then you have sha right Federal sha is that right pretty much then there's field and there's what field right here yep big old field corn stocks so you come in what southbound Federal you're heading towards Denver yeah so let's take the marker okay so like right down here see you turn on the sha show us what you do from there and then this is the this is the corn field actually let me see this so let's say there's dirt here and corn y does that look about right yeah okay so show us what you do with your car here you go maybe something like that well you stopped at some point and like backed up or something right you pull the body out yeah and then I I get out I tiptoe you tiptoed not not literally but you know whatever did you walk LLY on purpose no it's not it was I don't know I it was so sometimes I speak through music MH huh so like Tip Toe Through The Window I don't know sometimes I just get stuck in my head head okay basically I walk once you draw your car there for like do a little box or however you want to draw a car okay and that's the car yeah what' you just draw there uh a car oh okay got you so the wheels and yeah okay so you're facing that way you get out of which door where do you get out I get out of the driver door okay which way do you go around the car I'm not sure if I went around the front or the back I think I went around the back okay go around the back and then I open the door and then I drag him to the corn all right man I think we're about done is there anything else we've talked a long time yeah yeah and is there anything in the back of your mind you want to tell us or anything else you want to get out cuz now's the chance to anything else man so uh so what where is it going to go from here we do have an arrest for your a arrest warrant for you okay so you're going to get booked okay and then you'll be taken M to's County Adams yeah let me ask a question real quick yeah what would you want to tell his family I'd like to apologize to his family why because I took their son's life that's a big thing do you feel bad about that of course okay would you apologize to them yeah all right I don't think they probably like that we will um we'll get arrang as anything else you could think of so I'm going to get booked and then where is it going to go from that Court mhm okay you go D in SK jail for for now okay all right all right is there anything else you can think of you want to tell us phone calls you will make a phone call once you get up to Adams County they'll let you do that Yep this I don't think the process here will take too long B you get you going get you something to eat up there if you like and whatever so if you hungry or whatever thirsty just that's know any questions for us no cool we appreciate you cander yeah I really do respect that I do so all right Chris good luck to you man yeah we will uh we'll get you going okay okay and then uh for court do I figure all that out at Adams yeah they'll the whole process will be explained to you through the entire thing okay dates all that kind of stuff will be explained to you and then how long the court will figure it out right yeah I can't tell you that I really don't know the answer what do you think should happen to you I don't know self-defense so what do you think should happen three to five years you think you should get three to five years if it's self-defense what should get three to five years what's self-defense regularly I don't know well if it's self-defense you're justified in doing what you did yeah I don't I don't know I've never I don't really watch Court do you feel like you're Justified what you did yeah 100% all right good luck thank you yep how there come get you in just a little bit all right Chris wanted 3 to 5 years but instead he was sentenced to 35 years for second deegree murder on August 12th 2022 his gun safety logic didn't fly with the judge or jury who determined that he did not have a valid reason to kill Tanner and that there was no self-defense at play he is currently serving his sentence at Crowley County Correctional Facility where he is not eligible for parole until 2046 do you think Chris's actions were in self-defense yes or no let us know in the comments down 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