September 27, 2011 5:20 PM
Diane Turbyfill
A 21-year-old Gastonia woman will spend the next 14 to 17 years in prison for killing her boyfriend.
Christian Nichole Bates was charged with first-degree murder for stabbing Lebrandon Octavious Lee. She accepted a plea deal Tuesday morning that reduced the charge to second-degree murder.
The tragic incident was the result of a volatile relationship and a hard life, according to Bates’ attorney, Dan Roberts.
Bates dropped out of high school.
She went to seven different schools in about three years, bounced between relatives’ houses and got tangled up in drugs.
She had previous drug and solicitation convictions.
In two years she went to the emergency room five times as a victim of assault, four of those instances were at the hands of a boyfriend, said Roberts.
“You have an individual here who has lived a rough life with violence against her and she has been affected by that life,” Roberts said to Superior Court Judge Forrest Bridges. “This was an overreaction partially based on her past experience, and the overreaction ended tragically.”
Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hamlin described the night Lee died. Police responded to a call for help in the early morning hours of Oct. 30, 2010.
Lee and Bates had lived together at 904 W. Sixth Ave., Gastonia. An argument changed their status. Lee moved out. He returned to the apartment that night to pick up some clothes.
A battle of words began.
A friend of Bates inside the apartment watched as an angry Bates went into the kitchen, got a knife, then marched into the bedroom where Lee was packing.
The witness heard a scream then saw Lee stumble out of the room with a knife in his chest. The blade pierced his heart and lung. He made his way outside.
Neighbors called police and attempted to help the bleeding man, but the 5 3/8-inch blade created too much damage.
Police took Bates into custody and interviewed her. She did not yet know her boyfriend was dead.
Hamlin described the young woman’s reaction as lacking remorse. Roberts said his client was in shock at the time.
During her initial interview, Bates told police that Lee pulled her hair and rammed her head into a wall before she stabbed him.
Bridges called upon Gastonia Detective Mike Chambers to talk about the evidence in the case.
Chambers said he was the second detective on the scene. He observed Bates in a blood-soaked shirt and an area on the floor where it looked like she might have balled up.
Police took pictures of her head because of her account of the events, but Chambers did not remember seeing any bruises on her.
Three rows of Bates’ friends and family filled the courtroom Tuesday, but none of them chose to speak to the judge before sentencing.
Eugene Lee, Lee’s father, opted to talk about his son.
“He was just an outgoing, giving person,” Lee said.
Lee played football in school and volunteered at the Salvation Army in middle school, according to his father.
He had parents, brothers and a daughter.
Talking about his son and seeing his son’s killer brought back a lot of pain, Lee said. Some family members couldn’t force themselves to come to the courthouse.
Lee said he’s glad the matter can be put to rest, but he thought a stiffer sentence could have been enforced.
Bates family declined to talk to media.
Bates was led back out of court in handcuffs and shackles.
You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817.
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