A Bucks County jury convicted a 34-year-old man Wednesday, for the murder of Christopher M. Wilson in Middletown Township in December 2020.
Kahlill Saleem Brown, of Philadelphia, gunned down Wilson, a 52-year-old father of nine, while Wilson was waiting to start his shift at Kuusakoski Inc., a recycling facility located at 900 Wheeler Way in Middletown Township, the Bucks County District Attorney’s office said. Wilson had been in a relationship with Brown’s mother, Joyce Brown-Rodriguez, 56, who also was charged in the murder.
During the three-day trial, Deputy District Attorney Alan J. Garabedian presented testimony from witnesses to the shooting, who included Wilson’s co-workers and Brown’s mother. He also presented evidence from Middletown Township Police and Bucks County Detectives that included cellphone data that placed Brown at the scene of the crime, the DAs office said.
After about three hours of deliberations, the jury found Brown guilty of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy to commit murder, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of an instrument of crime, false swearing, and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Additionally, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley found Brown guilty of persons not to possess a firearm. Following the conviction, Finley deferred sentencing for 60 days.
Brown’s mother, Joyce Brown-Rodriguez, pleaded guilty in December to third-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, and related charges. She is scheduled for sentencing next month.
Brown and his mother were arrested following an investigation by Detectives with the Middletown Township Police Department and Bucks County District Attorney’s Office with assistance from the Bucks County 20th Investigating Grand Jury.
The investigation found that Wilson and Brown-Rodriguez had been romantically involved since 2018, but Wilson had ended the relationship. Upset, Brown-Rodriguez repeatedly called and texted Wilson before going to his workplace on Dec. 9, 2020, the day before the shooting. While sitting in the parking lot that day, she texted her son, Kahlill Brown, asking for his help.
She testified she “admitted” to Brown about her relationship, the DAs office said. Brown said he would talk to Wilson, Brown-Rodriguez testified on Tuesday. The next day, Brown-Rodriguez drove the two of them to Wilson’s workplace, parking in a corner of the lot. When Wilson got out of his car to talk to a co-worker, her son got out of the car and walked toward Wilson, she testified. She said she then heard several pops.
Witnesses reported the shooter approached Wilson on foot and shot him several times, continuing to shoot when the victim fell to the ground. Brown-Rodriguez testified she drove over to her son, and he got back into the vehicle. They then drove home to Philadelphia.
During the drive, Brown-Rodriguez asked him, “What the (expletive) did you just do? I thought you were going to talk to him.” According to the DAs office, she said he responded, “I didn’t feel like talking.”
Cellphone evidence presented during the trial showed that Brown was in the immediate vicinity of Wilson’s workplace at 5:10 a.m. and 5:51 a.m., the time the shooting was reported, the DAs office said.
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