Christopher Astin Motry faces first-degree murder and other charges in the killing of Christina Elizabeth Barber. (Screenshots from ABC12/YouTube)
A married 34-year-old Michigan man faces murder charges in the killing of his mistress and mother of seven, whose remains were found in a trash bag — with the toes sticking out — by a fisherman on the bank of the Flint River.
Christopher Astin Motry faces first-degree murder and charges of tampering with evidence, concealing the death of an individual and domestic violence in the killing of Christina Elizabeth Barber, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said in a news conference.
The murder was uncovered on March 3 when police were dispatched to the Flint Motel, where Barber had rented room 18. The comforter, sheets, and mattress were soaked in blood. There was blood on a wall and floor, Leyton said.
Police tracked down Barber’s co-workers at Burger King. They’d called the police a day earlier requesting a welfare check for her after she had not been to work in a week and wasn’t answering her phone. Police quickly identified the suspect, who worked with her at the fast-food restaurant, officials said.
Barber had been having trouble with him, authorities added. Their relationship was tumultuous. He had allegedly threatened to kill her on multiple occasions.
He was violent on the job, once getting angry with the manager and ripping the handles off the door of her car, Leyton said.
Police discovered Barber’s remains on March 4 when a man looking for a spot to fish found a black garbage bag and called the police.
Police pieced together the chronology after reviewing motel surveillance video, which showed the couple pulling into the motel lot in front of room 18 in a 2001 Ford F-150 pickup on Feb. 28, Leyton said.
They both went into the room, the prosecutor added, but only Motry came out the next night with what appeared to be a body in a bag. He put the bag into the bed of his truck and dumped it along a section of the river frequented by fishermen, he said.
“It was inevitable it was going to be discovered there,” Leyton said.
Motry was married and was having an affair with Barber, who was divorced, but trying to get out of that affair, Leyton said.
One of Barber’s daughters wrote on Facebook: “I miss you dearly and I will for the rest of my life! I’m just glad your not hurting no more. Keep resting pretty girl!”
Motry was being held without bond. A probable cause hearing is set for March 21.
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