How's this for irony?

[Baked]

New details in July shooting of Berkeley student
SFGate
Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
Monday, November 7, 2005

How's this for chilling -- the night before she was shot in Berkeley over the summer, Dartmouth College student Meleia Willis-Starbuck handled the very gun that was used to kill her.

That's the story Willis-Starbuck's friend and accused killer Christopher Hollis is telling authorities, and it's one of several new details emerging from the tragic shooting.

The 19-year-old Willis-Starbuck, who graduated from Berkeley High School and had just finished her freshman year at Dartmouth, was arguing with a group of UC Berkeley football players and their friends on College Avenue early July 17 and reportedly used her cell phone to call Hollis.

Hollis, 22, arrived in a car and allegedly fired several shots into the crowd from a half block away, one of which hit Willis-Starbuck in the chest.

Nobody wants to talk about it publicly, but according to attorneys and law enforcement sources close to the case, significant new evidence is emerging on Willis-Starbuck's role in the incident.

It's been reported that the trouble started when one of the players insulted Willis-Starbuck and her friends, calling one of them "Chewbacca,'' a reference to the large, wooly character from "Star Wars."

It turns out that witnesses have told authorities that at least one player tried to apologize for the name calling but that Willis-Starbuck wouldn't back down, even when her friends tried to coax her into a car.

"I got my people,'' sources quote Willis-Starbuck as having said.

In the nine minutes leading up to her fatal shooting at 1:43 a.m., cell phone records show she placed five calls to Hollis -- reaching him four times -- and by most accounts, cajoled her friend to come to her aid.

Hollis has told police that Willis-Starbuck knew he had a gun because she had actually handled his .38-caliber revolver just the night before.

One witness also told authorities that Willis-Starbuck had urged Hollis to "bring the heat,'' though the witness later recanted that statement.

There was something else as well. According to sources, newly completed toxicology tests show Willis-Starbucks' blood-alcohol level was 0.15 percent -- nearly double the legal definition of drunkenness. Add it all up, and you have the elements of a tragedy in the making.

"The question of her conduct and what she was communicating to my client is an important factor for consideration,'' said John Burris, Hollis' defense attorney, who has argued that his client was only trying to scare the people taking on Willis-Starbuck when he fired in their direction. "It's another piece of the puzzle.''

Hollis, by the way, is due back in court later this month to set a preliminary hearing date.[/b]

Cliff: Woman calls friend to back her up in a fight, gets shot by friend.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Wow...what kind of friend shoots toward a group of people from a half-block away to protect the victim in the same group? What an idiot.

 

[GeneValgene]

dang...a shame that students from such good schools are involved in an incident like this

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
Wow...what kind of friend shoots toward a group of people from a half-block away to protect the victim in the same group? What an idiot.

yea no crap, i dont understand why he would do that other than being a coward with a big gun.

 

[scorpmatt]

hmmm, unless the girl is hairy and ugly, wtf does chewy have to do with this thread?

in relation to the OP, wow, that sucks ass

 

[Rapidskies]

I guess he "brought the heat".

 

[Toonces]

wow, that was the worst case of circumstantial evidence being presented as fact since the OJ case.

"law enforcement officials"? please, talk about prejudicing the potential jurors - this stuff needs to be kept in a courtroom until society is comfortable convicting someone before their trial.

 

[BigJ]

The summary is classic.

 

[HumblePie]

Another one bites the dust.