Yahoo Finance Married Man Accused of Killing Girlfriend After Fisherman Discovers Bag with Toes Sticking Out
Christopher Astin Motry has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend Christina Elizabeth Barber
Christina Elizabeth Barber was found dead near the Flint River in Michigan on March 4, per investigators
Police say they found several bloodied items in a motel room that had been rented by Barber, who was in a relationship with Christopher Astin Motry
Motry, who is married, has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in connection with Barber's death
A Michigan man has been charged with murder after a fisherman found the body of the man’s girlfriend with her toes sticking out of a bag near a river, authorities say.
Flint City Police officers recovered the body of Christina Elizabeth Barber, 48, near the Flint River in Michigan on March 4, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said at a press conference.
Authorities, who were already investigating Barber’s disappearance, later arrested her boyfriend Christopher Astin Motry, 34, in connection with her death, Leyton said at the conference, which was broadcasted by FOX 66 and NBC 25.
Motry, who is married to another woman, has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder, domestic violence, evidence tampering and concealing a death, online court records show.
Genesee County Prosecutor's Office
Christopher Astin MotryOn March 2, a co-worker of Barber’s requested a welfare check because she had not been answering her phone or been to work in a week, Leyton said. The following day, local police responded to a motel in Flint where they found several bloodied items in a room that was rented by Barber, Leyton said.
At the scene, police recovered a “comforter laying on the ground soaked in what appeared to be blood” outside the motel room, Leyton said. Inside the motel room, police found a bloodstained mattress with cat litter on it and cat litter on the floor. There were also bloodstained sheets next to the bed and bloodstains on the floor and the wall, according to police.
On March 4, police found Barber's body after a 911 call was made by a person about to go fishing, Leyton said. The witness found a black garbage bad with “what appeared to be toes from a person sticking out of the bag,” Leyton said.
During their investigation, Leyton said that Genesee police reviewed security footage from the motel and saw Barber and Motry entering the motel room on Feb. 28. On Feb. 29 evening, Motry is allegedly seen coming out of the room with “what appears to be a body in a plastic bag in a fireman’s carry and puts it into the bed of his truck,” Leyton said.
“You never see Ms. Barber again,” Leyton said.
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A GoFundMe has been set up by Barber's daughter to help the family with funeral expenses. Barber was unmarried and had seven adult children.
Co-workers told investigators that Barber and Motry were in a “difficult, tumultuous” relationship that she was trying to leave, Leyton said. He added that they also claimed Motry had threatened to kill her several times.
Motry’s wife has been cooperating with the investigation and is not a suspect, Leyton said.
Motry was arraigned on Friday and is being held without bond, court records show. He has been assigned a public defender, who was not named in court records.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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