Halloween slaying trial under way

Published 10:41 pm Wednesday, October 15, 2008

EVERETT — A Snohomish County jury on Wednesday was shown the handgun that detectives say was used to gun down a Kirkland teen during a drunken melee outside a Halloween party in Mill Creek.

Bryce Fortier, 23, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Christopher Chandler, 17. The Kirkland teen was shot in the chest Oct. 28. He died on the side of the road.

Witnesses told investigators there had been at least 100 people at the party and fights broke out as party-goers began to leave. Some witnesses told investigators that Fortier, then a student at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, had been severely beaten before he pulled out a gun and fired. Other witnesses said Fortier charged Chandler before he shot the younger man.

Fortier called his father after the shooting and said he’d been jumped by a crowd of guys and fired his gun in self-defense, charging papers said.

Jurors on Wednesday were shown a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, along with pictures taken the night of the party. The gun was found inside the Mill Creek house on the arm of a sofa. Fortier’s wallet was also found near the gun. His wallet held his concealed weapons permit.

Some of the pictures also featured a smiling Chandler dressed up in a red jumpsuit the night of the party.

Chandler attended Lake Washington Vocational Technical College and planned to become an electrical engineer, his family said. They believe he was leaving the party that night but stopped to intervene in a fight. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, his older brother told The Herald in 2007.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Sherry King also showed the jury a picture of Fortier taken after the shooting at the sheriff’s office south precinct.

In the picture Fortier is still wearing the shirt that was part of his pirate costume. He is bleeding from cuts to his face and there is blood on his shirt.

Snohomish County sheriff’s veteran detective Brad Pince described the cuts and abrasions to Fortier’s face, saying they appeared to be minor.

Fortier’s attorney Pete Mazzone told the jury that while his client’s injuries may have appeared minor that night, Fortier suffered from severe headaches and loss of vision for several weeks after the shooting.

More testimony is expected today.

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.