Margaret Christorf was a 40-year-old woman whose life came to a violent and tragic end on November 8, 1991, in Phoenix, Arizona. Her murder became one of the most disturbing cases in a series of sexual assaults and killings that terrorized women throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area during the early 1990s. What initially appeared to be an isolated act of extreme violence would eventually be connected to Scott Alan Lehr, a serial sexual predator whose crimes resulted in multiple murder
convictions and death sentences.
In the early morning hours of November 8, Margaret was last seen alive at a convenience store near the intersection of 16th Street and Indian School Road in Phoenix. The circumstances surrounding her encounter with her killer were never fully established publicly. Investigators would later connect her death to a pattern of attacks in which a man approached women, offered them rides, and transported them to isolated areas where they were sexually assaulted and violently attacked.
Later that same day, Margaret's body was discovered along a dirt road in an orchard near 59th Avenue and Utopia Road in northwest Phoenix. The scene revealed the brutality of her final moments. Her sweater had been unzipped, her bra had been pushed upward, and her pants had been pulled down. Her skull was fractured on both sides, indicating that she had suffered repeated, devastating blows to the head. Two bloodstained rocks were discovered nearby, one of which had hair attached to it. Investigators determined that Margaret had died from blunt-force trauma to the head.
Forensic examination also revealed evidence of sexual assault. Semen was recovered from vaginal and rectal samples, providing investigators with biological evidence that would later become central to identifying and prosecuting her killer. Although DNA technology was still developing in the early 1990s, the evidence collected from Margaret's body would eventually play a decisive role in the criminal proceedings.
Margaret's murder occurred during a frightening period in Phoenix when several women and girls were being abducted, sexually assaulted, beaten, and abandoned in remote locations. Investigators began recognizing similarities among the attacks. Some surviving victims described encountering a man who appeared approachable and offered transportation. Rather than taking them to their intended destinations, the attacker drove them to secluded desert areas, where he subjected them to sexual violence. Several victims reported being struck with rocks or other heavy objects, while others described being choked or threatened.
The attacker eventually became known as the "Baby Seat Rapist" because a child safety seat was reportedly visible in his vehicle. The presence of the seat may have helped create the impression that the driver was a family man who posed little danger. Investigators also examined similarities involving the vehicles used during the attacks, the locations where victims were approached, and the violence inflicted upon them.
Margaret's killing was followed by two additional murders that investigators connected to the same series of crimes. On January 20, 1992, Belinda Cronin disappeared after leaving her Phoenix apartment intending to hitchhike to a friend's home. Her remains were discovered months later in a desert area, and investigators determined that she had suffered fatal head injuries. Another victim, Michelle Morales, was found dead in February 1992 near Carefree Highway and Interstate 17. She had also suffered severe skull fractures, and evidence at the scene indicated sexual violence.
As detectives worked to connect the attacks, their investigation increasingly focused on Scott Alan Lehr. Authorities examined statements from surviving victims, physical evidence, and DNA testing results. Lehr was arrested in June 1992, and prosecutors subsequently charged him in connection with the murders and numerous other violent offenses. On July 6, 1992, the state formally charged him with the killings of Margaret Christorf, Michelle Morales, and Belinda Cronin, along with offenses involving additional victims.
One of the most important pieces of evidence in Margaret's case came from the Arizona Department of Public Safety crime laboratory. Forensic scientists compared DNA recovered from her body with Lehr's genetic profile. Using the testing methods available at the time, analysts reported a match across five DNA probes. Expert testimony indicated that the probability of a random match was approximately one in eleven million. Prosecutors regarded this evidence as a critical connection between Lehr and Margaret's murder.
The prosecution also presented evidence of Lehr's involvement in other attacks. Several surviving victims had identified him as their assailant, while additional forensic evidence connected him to separate sexual assaults. Investigators believed the similarities among the crimes demonstrated a recurring pattern involving abduction, sexual assault, and extreme physical violence.
Lehr was prosecuted in a series of proceedings during the 1990s. He was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, seven counts of kidnapping, and numerous sexual offenses. His convictions included the murders of Margaret Christorf, Michelle Morales, and Belinda Cronin. In 1997, he received death sentences for the three murders, along with extensive prison sentences for his additional crimes.
Although the convictions represented a major development for the victims and their families, Margaret's case was far from over. Lehr appealed, challenging several aspects of the proceedings, including the admissibility of DNA evidence and restrictions placed on his defense attorneys during the trial.
On January 30, 2002, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a significant ruling. The court determined that the trial judge had improperly limited the defense's ability to cross-examine the prosecution's DNA expert and present evidence concerning the laboratory's testing procedures. Because DNA evidence was especially important in Margaret's murder, the court concluded that the error could not be considered harmless.
As a result, Lehr's conviction for Margaret's murder was overturned, along with certain other convictions, including the conviction involving Michelle Morales. The ruling did not constitute a finding that Lehr was innocent. Instead, the court determined that the restrictions placed on the defense had compromised the fairness of the original proceedings and that the affected charges required a new trial.
Additional legal complications arose after the United States Supreme Court ruled that juries, rather than judges, must determine the findings necessary to impose capital punishment under Arizona's former sentencing system. This constitutional decision affected Lehr's death sentences and required further proceedings.
In 2009, Lehr was retried on the charges that had been overturned. Prosecutors again presented their case, including evidence relating to the sexual assaults, DNA testing, and the similarities among the attacks. The jury found Lehr guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Margaret Christorf and Michelle Morales. He was also convicted of additional offenses considered during the retrial.
In April 2009, a Maricopa County jury sentenced Lehr to death for Margaret's murder and separately sentenced him to death for Morales's murder. The jury could not reach a unanimous decision concerning a death sentence for Belinda Cronin. Prosecutors ultimately withdrew their request for capital punishment in that case, and Lehr received a life sentence for Cronin's murder.
The legal battle continued after the new convictions. Lehr challenged the retrial on multiple grounds, including the handling of DNA evidence, jury conduct, witness testimony, and the instructions given to jurors. His attorneys also raised constitutional arguments concerning the fairness of the proceedings and the sentences imposed.
On July 13, 2011, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected Lehr's appeal and affirmed his convictions and death sentences for the murders of Margaret and Michelle. The court found no reversible error warranting another trial or overturning the capital sentences. Lehr continued pursuing post-conviction relief through state and federal courts, but subsequent proceedings did not result in the reversal of those convictions. Federal court decisions in 2023 and 2024 also rejected challenges to his convictions or sentences.
Lehr has remained incarcerated under a death sentence in Arizona. His prosecution became one of the state's notable serial murder cases because of the number of victims, the violence involved, the reliance on forensic DNA evidence, and the lengthy appellate litigation that followed the original trials.
Although the courts ultimately upheld Lehr's responsibility for Margaret's murder, the exact circumstances surrounding her initial encounter with him remain less clearly documented than the forensic evidence recovered after her death. Publicly available court records establish where she was last seen, where her body was discovered, the injuries she sustained, and the evidence linking Lehr to the crime. They do not establish every detail of how he approached her or what occurred between her disappearance and the discovery of her body.
Margaret Christorf's death was more than one incident in a series of brutal crimes. She was an individual whose life was taken in circumstances of extraordinary violence, leaving behind an enduring record of loss and injustice. Her case illustrates both the importance of forensic evidence in solving violent crimes and the legal safeguards that can lead to convictions being reconsidered before they are ultimately upheld.
More than three decades after her murder, the judicial record identifies Scott Alan Lehr as the man convicted of killing Margaret Christorf. The investigation, trials, retrial, and appeals extended across many years, but the outcome established criminal responsibility for the attack that ended her life on November 8, 1991. Her name remains connected to one of Phoenix's most disturbing periods of serial violence, and her case serves as a reminder of the lives lost before authorities brought the perpetrator to justice.
