A woman who had an affair with a homicide defendant agreed with his attorney that the suspect’s behavior was not abnormal the day of the incident during a trial before DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park on Feb. 26.
Christopher Tyler, 48, is charged with first-degree felony murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction, first-degree burglary while armed, and attempt to commit robbery while armed for his alleged involvement in the July 7, 2023 shooting death of Nolan Edwards, 34, on the 4100 block of Ames St, NE. Edwards sustained four gunshot wounds.
The prosecution alleged that Tyler wanted to get “money, marijuana, or anything else” from Edwards, who lived on the same floor.
A witness called by the prosecution, who was having an extramarital affair with Tyler at the time of the crime, testified that she was approached by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) lead detective in the case a couple of weeks following the incident.
The woman claimed that the detective confiscated her truck and two phones, an iPhone and an android. According to the woman, Tyler gave her the android to use to communicate with him. When she came to the station to retrieve her phones, the woman said an MPD detective “ambushed” her with questions about the incident.
At the time, the woman said she had no idea about the incident and refused to give Tyler’s name to the detectives, instead calling him “Henry.”
When questioned by the prosecution about her decision to protect Tyler’s identity, the woman said she was concerned about keeping their relationship a secret from her husband, not the incident itself.
The day of the incident, the woman said she and Tyler had spent the day together working, smoking, and being intimate. Then, the woman said they drove to Tyler’s cousin’s residence, where Tyler was staying, and in the same apartment complex as the incident location.
The woman confirmed that she and Tyler would “hang out” three-to-four times per week leading up to the murder, during which they would drink alcohol and consume Molly, a powerful mood altering drug, and marijuana. They often spent time at the woman’s cousin’s house, but sometimes went to where Tyler was staying as well, said the woman.
Additionally, the woman stated that she and Tyler occasionally spent time together in her vehicle, either to hang out or to purchase drugs from a location near her cousin’s apartment.
In cross-examination by Gardner, the woman claimed their visit the day of the incident where Tyler was staying was not abnormal. She confirmed they would often stop by so Tyler could retrieve belongings from his cousin’s residence.
When questioned by Gardner, she affirmed that she waited outside the residence for Tyler for less than two minutes. When he returned, she said they drove to a liquor store.
Gardner asked about Tyler’s demeanor when he exited the residence and when he went into the liquor store. The woman agreed with Gardner’s suggestions that “nothing [was] out of the ordinary.” In addition, Gardner confirmed with the woman that there was no blood on Tyler’s clothing and he was not in a rush when he returned from his cousin’s apartment.
Gardner also asked about the woman’s conversations with MPD in which she said she could not clearly recall the day. Due to time constraints, Gardner will resume questioning the woman at the next hearing.
An DNA analyst testified that she analyzed results from crime scene items sent from the Department of Forensic Services (DFS) she said a blood sample from a cardboard box found at the scene very likely belonged to the victim, but no DNA evidence was recovered from six cartridge casings.
Other than a cheek swab taken from Tyler as a reference sample, none of the DNA evidence was connected to him.
Gardner questioned the expert on why DFS only requested testing for certain crime scene evidence and the expert confirmed that they only tested the items received from DFS.
Another witness who works for MPD was called by the prosecution to identify surveillance footage from the day of the incident. Court documents identify Tyler as the individual in some of the videos, and some footage shows the car with his lover driving in the area.
Parties are slated to reconvene on March 2.
