In the early morning hours of November 2, 2013, the life of 19-year-old African American Renisha McBride was cut short on the porch of a home in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Her tragic death was the culmination of a series of unfortunate events that began hours earlier with a single-car accident in Detroit. McBride, who was intoxicated, had crashed her car into a parked vehicle. In a state of confusion, she left the scene of the accident on foot.
Her family believes she was disoriented and possibly suffering from a head injury as she wandered the neighborhood in search of help.
Around 4:42 a.m., more than three hours after her car crash, McBride arrived at the home of 54-year-old Theodore Wafer and began knocking on his door. Wafer, awakened by what he described as loud banging, claimed he believed someone was trying to break into his house. Instead of calling 911, he armed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun. He then opened his front door and fired through the locked screen door, striking McBride in the face and killing her instantly. Wafer initially told police the shooting was an accident but later claimed he acted in self-defense.
The shooting sparked outrage and protests, with many drawing parallels to the death of Trayvon Martin and believing that race was a factor in the incident. Theodore Wafer, who is white, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. His trial began in July 2014. Prosecutors argued that Wafer was not acting in lawful self-defense when he shot the unarmed teenager. The defense maintained that Wafer was in genuine fear for his life.
On August 7, 2014, a jury found Theodore Wafer guilty of second-degree murder, as well as manslaughter and a felony firearm charge. He was subsequently sentenced to 17 to 32 years in prison. The sentence included 15 to 30 years for the murder conviction and a mandatory two years for the firearm charge. In 2022, his sentence was reaffirmed after a Michigan Supreme Court ruling vacated the manslaughter conviction on double jeopardy grounds, but it did not alter the overall time he was to serve.
