Court Docs: Suspect in Teen's Murder 'Obsessed with Death'

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- A man who a friend described as having an "obsession with death, dead bodies and serial killers" was ordered held on $1 million bail Thursday morning in the murder of a Wenatchee teenager.

Christopher Scott Wilson, 29, was wearing an orange jumpsuit and was shackled at the waist when he appeared before a judge in Chelan County Superior Court.

He is accused of killing 17-year-old Mackenzie Cowell, whose body was found along the Columbia River in February.

Police said she had been fatally beaten, stabbed and strangled, and an autopsy report concluded that someone tried to cut off her arm after she was dead.

Cowell was a classmate with Wilson at the Academy of Hair Design, and investigators said a DNA sample from Wilson matched DNA found on a piece of duct tape recovered from where Cowell's body was found.

According to court documents, Wilson was interviewed twice about Cowell's disappearance, but said he never interacted with her and did not know who killed her.

However, other students at the school told investigators that they saw Wilson speaking with Cowell and that he told them he thought Cowell was "hot," the documents said.

When confronted with the DNA evidence during an interview with police on Wednesday, Wilson asked for a lawyer and was arrested.

The documents filed in court Tuesday indicate that several people had concerns about Wilson:


* One friend wrote a letter to police in August claiming Wilson had an "obsession with death, dead bodies and serial killers" and had once tried to choke a female friend.

* Another woman called police and said she worked with Wilson previously and that he told her he killed a guest at an Ellensburg-area hotel where he worked several years ago by strangling her with a belt, according to the court documents. Police wrote that they were not able to confirm the killing occured.

* A woman who was a student at the Academy of Hair Design with Wilson said that Wilson told her he "liked to cut people up" when he was working at funeral homes. Investigators said Wilson worked at several funeral homes in the Wenatchee area.


When detectives searched Wilson's home after he was arrested they found blood in a basement stairwell, but it was not whose blood it was.

In court on Thursday Wilson said he could not afford an attorney and was appointed a public defender. His lawyer did not challenge the bail request from prosecutors, who said Wilson is a "potential threat" to the community despite his lack of criminal history.

Cowell's mother and several friends were in the courtroom, along with Wilson's mother. None chose to speak with reporters.

At a news conference following the court hearing, investigators said they interviewed 750 people, followed up on 400 leads and tips, and collected 229 pieces of evidence over the last eight months.

"We hope that the arrest may in some way give some measure of relief to Mackenzie's family and friends," said Chief Deputy Robbin Wagg, commander of the task force investigating Cowell's murder.

Officials said they have not yet found the suspected murder weapon. In July investigators released photos of the unique type of knife they believed was used to kill Cowell, hoping it would prompt new leads in the case.

Task force spokesman Captain Doug Jones said detectives are still working to determine exactly what happened the day Cowell was murdered, and urged anyone with information about Wilson or the case to contact police.