Marine's wife found dead in California, alleged lover arrested

Marine's wife found dead in California, alleged lover arrested
(Image credit: Facebook/Erin Corwin)

Last weekend, police in San Bernardino County, California, found the body of Erin Corwin, who had been missing from the Twentynine Palms U.S. Marine Corp base since June 28. Corwin's husband, a Marine corporal, works at the base. On Sunday night, Corwin's body was positively identified through dental records, and half an hour later local police and the FBI arrested Corwin's former neighbor, Christopher Lee, 24, in Alaska, San Bernardino law enforcement officials said on Monday. They are treating the case as a murder investigation.

According to the search warrant, Corwin and Lee were having an affair, and Lee may have been concerned that Corwin would tell his wife she was carrying his child. Corwin, 19, was three months pregnant when she disappeared. Corwin's car had been found outside the base, with tire prints similar to Lee's jeep discovered next to it. Her body was found at the bottom of a mine shaft in the nearby desert. Lee and Corwin shared a love of horses, and apparently became friendly while both volunteering at the White Rock Horse Rescue.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.