ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina July 26 2013 — A former Pinetops part-time police officer has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2010 shooting of a fellow student at Mid-Atlantic Christian University.
The Pasquotank County jury deliberated slightly less than three hours Tuesday before returning the verdict in the trial of 26-year-old Christopher Amyx, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Amyx had claimed self-defense, saying 23-year-old Jonathan Schipper came at him with a knife while he sat at his computer in his dorm room. Amyx testified he had received threatening notes in the days leading up to the shooting and felt he was in danger because he was a gay student at a religious school.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Pellini said in closing arguments that Amyx had planned to shoot Schipper.
The Pasquotank County jury deliberated slightly less than three hours Tuesday before returning the verdict in the trial of 26-year-old Christopher Amyx, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Amyx had claimed self-defense, saying 23-year-old Jonathan Schipper came at him with a knife while he sat at his computer in his dorm room. Amyx testified he had received threatening notes in the days leading up to the shooting and felt he was in danger because he was a gay student at a religious school.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Pellini said in closing arguments that Amyx had planned to shoot Schipper.