Man accused of killing Marine’s wife to be extradited from Alaska

The man accused of killing a Marine’s wife and dumping her body in a 140-foot mine shaft waived his extradition proceedings in Alaska and will return to California to face charges, prosecutors said Thursday.

Christopher Brandon Lee, 24, was arrested about 10 p.m. Sunday in Anchorage on suspicion of killing 19-year-old Erin Corwin after search crews found her body the day before in the mine shaft.

San Bernardino County prosecutors have since filed charges against Lee of murder and murder by lying in wait. The latter could carry the death penalty if Lee is convicted.

Corwin’s body was found Saturday after a seven-week search in isolated, rugged terrain on government-owned land. Investigators believe Corwin and Lee, who were next-door neighbors at a military base in Twentynine Palms, were having an affair. Lee may have been worried that Corwin was pregnant and would tell his wife, according to investigators.

Lee was arrested on suspicion of murder Sunday night in Alaska, where he had moved with his daughter and wife after being discharged from the Marines in July.

According to an arrest warrant posted on the district attorney’s website, .22-caliber cartridge casings found near Corwin’s body match cartridge casings found in Lee’s Jeep and his apartment on base.

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