San Angelo man indicted for murder, placing body in bathtub

SAN ANGELO, Texas ( Concho Valley Homepage ) — A San Angelo man has been indicted for allegedly murdering a local woman and placing her body in the bathtub of a residence.

An indictment record filed within Tom Green County stated that 37-year-old Christopher Wise was indicted on July 11 for causing the death of Christie Feland on Nov. 8, 2022, by striking her repeatedly with his hands, feet and an unknown object before “placing her in an aqueous environment after rendering her incapable of extricating herself from that environment.”

Wise was previously indicted for the murder on Jan. 20, 2023. According to an affidavit filed in relation to the case, law enforcement responded to a residence within the city at 5:22 a.m. after receiving a call regarding a dead individual. At the scene, officers discovered the body of Feland in rigor mortis on a bed.

Wise told the officers that he had been in an argument with Feland on the evening of Nov. 7, 2022, regarding a Snapchat conversation he had with another woman.

Wise stated that he had fallen asleep on a couch within the residence between midnight and 1 a.m. after Feland had tried to burn items in the backyard of the property. He told law enforcement that he awoke at 5 a.m., after which he discovered Feland’s body in a bathtub that was overflowing. Wise then stated that he removed Feland from the bathtub and began to perform CPR before calling 911.

Officers at the scene observed that there was an injury dealt to Feland’s left temple, bleeding behind her left ear and other injuries on her left side. An autopsy conducted later on Feland indicated that she had died from blunt force trauma, though investigators were unable to determine what item was used to inflict her injuries at the time of the report.

Wise has been held in the Tom Green County Detention Center with a posted bond of $1,500,000 since his arrest on Nov. 22, 2022, done in relation to the incident. According to the indictment filed in July 2024, Wise has been previously convicted in the District Court of San Juan, New Mexico, for aggravated battery against a household member that caused great bodily harm.

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