Husband Accused of Murdering Santa Rita Hairdresser Indicted

SAN ANGELO – The husband accused of murder in the slaying of a hairdresser in Santa Rita has been indicted for the crime in Tom Green County.

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Christopher Wise, 36, has been indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury for Murder after allegedly striking Christie Feland with an unknown object killing her.

According to court documents, investigators reviewed the call log that is maintained by the San Angelo Public Safety Communications Division that showed a call for service on November 8, 2022, at 5:22 a.m. regarding a deceased subject on the 1200 block of West Avenue M.

In the call, Wise stated that he discovered Feland in a bathtub that was overfilled with water and noted that Feland was not breathing. Officers arrived at 5:28 a.m. according to the call log and investigators watched the body cam footage from the camera worn by the responding officer.

The footage showed Wise meet with the officer outside and escort her to the back bedroom where investigators observed Feland on the bed in a state of rigor mortis. Investigators observed that no lifesaving maneuvers were conducted, and it was apparent that Feland was deceased.

Investigators were called to the scene where they spoke with the officer. The officer told investigators that Wise identified himself as Feland’s husband. In the officer’s body cam footage, the officer observed Feland’s driver license in her wallet to obtain positive identification as Christie Feland.

The investigator observed Feland’s body on the bed and saw that she had an injury to her left temple area and a small amount of blood behind her left ear. Investigators also observed a bruise above her left knee and strange markings and bruising on the side of her left thigh.

Both the investigator and a detective interviewed Wise who advised that a verbal altercation had taken place the previous evening in reference to a Snapchat conversation Wise had apparently had with another woman. Wise also advised that Feland had deleted the Snapchat conversation between Wise and the other woman and that Feland had burned physical property in the backyard that Wise had to put out with a water hose.

The night of the incident, Wise stated he advised Feland to sleep in the bedroom and he would sleep on the couch in the living room. Wise then said he woke up around 5:00 a.m. and found Feland in the bathtub.

Wise stated that he drained the bathtub, that was overrunning with water and pulled Feland out of the tub to begin CPR prior to contacting 911. Justice of the Peace Eddie Howard responded to the scene who ordered an autopsy to be conducted on November 10, 2022.

The autopsy was performed by Dr. Blake at South Plains Forensic Pathology in Lubbock, Texas. Investigators spoke with two doctors on the circumstances regarding the autopsy of Feland. He was advised by one of the doctors that the manner of death was homicide which was caused by blunt force trauma from an assault. At the time of the complaint, investigators had not been able to determine what object Wise allegedly used to strike and assault Feland. A statement was gathered from Wise where he stated he was the only other occupant inside the residence the night Feland died.

Wise was arrested and booked into the Tom Green County Detention Facility on November 22, 2022.  He was charged with Murder and he is currently and inmate being held on $750,000 bond.