Costa Mesa Man Convicted of Gunning Down Girlfriend

COSTA MESA, CA — The deadly story reads like the Guns and Roses song Costa Mesa resident was singing at the time he pulled the trigger and ended his girlfriend's life.

"I used to love her but I had to kill her," Senior Deputy District Attorney Jim Mendelson said at the onset of the trial, quoting lyrics from a Guns 'n' Roses song the defendant, Thomas Michael Wilhlem, was playing moments before he gunned down the victim.

"It was a romantic relationship that went sour and a parallel business relationship that went sour," Mendelson said of the motive.

Just minutes before she was killed, the victim sent a text message to friends complaining that the defendant was "hammered again" and "singing the oldies at the top of his lungs," Mendelson said.

On Wednesday, a 52-year-old Costa Mesa man was convicted of killing his live-in girlfriend and business partner. Wilhlem, who is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 3, faces up to 50 years to life behind bars.

An Orange County Superior Court jury, which was also allowed to consider second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, deliberated for about a day before reaching a first-degree murder verdict.

Wilhelm shot 45-year-old Christine Marie Murray on July 8, 2012.

According to Mendelson, Wilhelm stole the murder weapon from a neighbor, who provided important testimony in the trial but died of natural causes shortly before Wednesday's verdict.

"He shot all seven rounds in that pistol," Mendelson said. "He hit the victim six times."

Wilhlem apparently wanted to turn the gun on himself, but he ran out of bullets so he went back to the neighbor's house to steal another weapon, Mendelson said.
Wilhelm was a "functioning alcoholic," who was also abusing prescription pain killers, the prosecutor said. The defendant's sprinkler repair business was failing due to his addictions, so he asked Murray to help him right the ship, Mendelson said.

Murray also had drug addiction issues and was homeless for a time and lost custody of her child, the prosecutor said. She eventually sobered up, regained custody of her then-8-year-old son and was helping Wilhelm salvage his business, Mendelson said.

The two were still living together in the same home but were splitting up at the time of the shooting, Mendelson said. The defendant was angry that his ex-girlfriend had taken over his business and he wanted to regain control, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Doug Myers, in arguing for a lesser degree of culpability, said the defendant had a diminished capacity stemming from alcohol and drug abuse.

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