A 55-year-old woman shot and killed her roommate in Garden Grove as she threatened to do and told her boyfriend she had to flee to Mexico, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday as the defendant’s attorney said her client was in a mental health crisis and accidentally shot her longtime friend.
Michelle Ilene Buzick is charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement for the discharge of a gun causing death.
Buzick is accused of killing Chris Miller on Sept. 12, 2023, in their apartment at 10781 Lotus Drive.
“This is a case of two people living together in a contentious relationship that erupted into murder,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Nick Thomo said in his opening statement of the trial.
Another roommate, Michael McCullough, came home about 8 p.m. and found Miller’s body, Thomo said. The victim suffered a single gunshot wound to his head.
About 8:30 p.m., San Diego police received a 911 call from the defendant’s boyfriend, Joe Reynolds, who said she admitted killing Miller and possessed a gun and was threatening to commit suicide. The two had been driving south and stopped at a casino for a short time before he left her and made his way to a Days Inn in San Diego to call police, Thomo said.
Police put out a call for the defendant to law enforcement and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies found the vehicle she was driving about midnight in Lake Elsinore and arrested her, Thomo said. In the car was the murder weapon, Thomo said.
After Buzick shot Miller she went to Reynolds’ home in Cypress, Thomo said. Reynolds’ friend, Michael McDowell, was with him and they heard her say, “Chris is no longer with us. That thing I said I was going to do, he is no longer with us,” according to Thomo.
While on the ride south toward San Diego, Buzick was hysterical and it frightened him so much he got out, Thomo said. Buzick kept saying she wanted to “escape to Mexico,” Thomo said.
Buzick had a contentious relationship with Reynolds as well, Thomo said. She “attempted to run over Joe Reynolds in a domestic violence incident,” Thomo said.
Buzick did not get along well with Miller, Thomo said.
Buzick’s sister spoke with her after the shooting and the defendant said she couldn’t recall the shooting except for a muzzle flash. The sister, Theresa Romero, said her sister “snapped,” according to Thomo.
The sister contended that Miller had been mentally abusing her for two years, Thomo said.
Some evidence in the case will include threatening text messages Buzick sent her sister about money she felt was owed to her, Thomo said. If she didn’t get the money she said was owed to her, “Chris Miller is first on my list” for revenge, Thomo said.
Buzick’s attorney, Catherine Learned of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office, said, “This is a case about a mental health emergency that led to tragedy.”
Buzick got the gun “to end her own pain, not someone else’s life,” Learned said.
Buzick intended to kill herself, but she was spooked when Miller arrived home unexpectedly and she accidentally shot him, Learned said.
Buzick was haunted by her father molesting her as a child, which led to an addiction to drugs, Learned said. She has had periods of sobriety and has two adult daughters, but she was pained to see one of the daughters follow her into a life on the streets struggling with drugs, Learned said.
“Seeing her daughter repeat the cycle, it was all building up for her,” Learned said.
Buzick had previously lived with Mike McCullough, her friend, in another home, but there was a fire and “pretty much all the things” the defendant had burned, Learned said. That led her to relocate to the apartment with Miller, she said.
Adding to the stress was Buzick’s older sister dying of lung cancer, Learned said.
Buzick and Miller had been friends for 20 years, she said.
Miller was essentially homeless and would couch surf, Learned said.
The dispute the defendant had over money involved insurance claims from her losses in the fire, Learned said. Also troubling to Buzick was she was no longer welcome back at the house when the fire repairs were to be completed, the attorney said.
Buzick left the shooting in “complete shock” and dashed over to her boyfriend’s home, Learned said.
“She’s hysterical and crying,” Learned said.
The defense attorney denied that her client said she had planned to hurt Miller.
“That’s a complete fiction,” she said.
Buzick and Reynolds stopped at the casino to use the restroom and get some cigarettes, Learned said. She told Reynolds she wanted to kill herself, the attorney said.
Forensic experts are expected to testify how the shooting was accidental and not intentional, Learned said.
“In this case there is no motive,” she said. “They had been friends for 20 years… She had no reason for wanting to kill him.”