Christopher Spreitz

Background

Christopher John Spreitz was Caucasian.

On the night in question, Ruby Reid spent the evening at the Red Dog Saloon in Tucson and had been a regular patron for a number of years. Because she did not own a car and the bar was near her home, she was on foot as usual.

Spreitz spent several hours drinking with his roommate at another bar in the vicinity. At about midnight, Spreitz and his roommate returned home. Spreitz's roommate's girlfriend testified that shortly after they arrived, Spreitz remarked that he was going out to see if he could "pick up a date."

The offence

Between 12:35 and 12:45 a.m., Tucson Police Officer Ramon Batista noticed a man he later identified as Spreitz drive into a convenience store parking lot across the road from where Batista was parked. Batista noted the make and color of Spreitz's car. After watching Spreitz talk to another man for a few minutes, Batista drove through the convenience store parking lot, observing that Spreitz was wearing torn jeans over spandex shorts and a white T-shirt.

At approximately 1:45 a.m., Batista again noticed Spreitz's car in downtown Tucson. Contrary to the earlier convenience store sighting where the officer recalled the car was running cleanly, the car was now smoking heavily and leaving a trail of oil. Batista pulled Spreitz over. With Spreitz out of his car, Batista observed that his hands, arms, legs, shoes, and shirt appeared to be smeared with blood and fecal matter. Batista also noted that Spreitz's shirt was torn and that he smelled of feces. The officer noted that Spreitz had removed his jeans and was now wearing spandex shorts with the same T-shirt.

Spreitz explained his condition by saying he had fought with the man seen with him by Batista earlier that evening.

Sgt. Victor Chacon drove by and stopped when he observed Spreitz's appearance. Chacon expressed concern about the condition of the man with whom Spreitz had allegedly fought and asked Spreitz to take the officers to the scene of the fight. Spreitz rode unrestrained in the back seat of Officer Batista's patrol vehicle.

Upon arrival at the purported scene, the officers were unable to find any signs of an altercation, injuries to the other man, or the cause of the oil leak in Spreitz's car. Chacon called another police officer to take photographs of Spreitz, who consented to being photographed.

After Spreitz arrived home, he told his roommate's girlfriend that he had had a fight with a man and he was not certain if the man were alive or dead.

On Monday morning, May 22, a horseback rider discovered Ruby Reid's naked and decomposing body in the desert on the outskirts of Tucson. At the scene, police detectives observed tire tracks leading back to the pavement, oil stains in the dirt, footprints, and drag marks in the dirt leading away from the body. They also found feces-stained pants, tennis shoes, socks, a used tampon, and a torn brassiere. Two blood-stained rocks lay next to the body.

The medical examiner testified that, due to the advanced state of decomposition, he could not determine the full extent and nature of the victim's injuries. For the same reason, the examiner was unable to confirm or reject the presence of semen. The injuries he was able to catalog included:

• bruising on the legs, arms, and back
• bruising and abrasions on the buttocks
• several broken ribs
• internal bleeding
• a broken jaw
• several head lacerations
• a skull fracture where the skull had been "shoved in."

The examiner concluded that the cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head. The fatal wound was a skull fracture consistent with being struck with a V-shaped rock.

Spreitz was convicted of first-degree murder (both premeditation and felony-murder), sexual assault, and kidnapping.

Investigation

Police discovered Ruby Reid’s body three days after they stopped Spreitz. The body and surrounding area were covered in blood and fecal material.

The police were initially unable to develop leads in the case. On Wednesday, May 24, at the police station, the officer who had photographed Spreitz the previous Friday morning encountered the investigating detective in the Reid murder. Their conversation included the events of Friday night, May 19. The detective then sensed that the blood- and feces-covered driver might be connected to the murder. The detective obtained a search warrant for Spreitz's apartment and car. The detective ran a computer check and discovered that Spreitz was subject to several outstanding warrants for unsatisfied traffic citations.

At the scene, two blood-stained rocks were found next to the body.

When detectives searched Spreitz's car, they found blood spatter in various locations inside the trunk. The investigating criminologist was able to determine that some of the blood was not consistent with Spreitz's blood characteristics.

Arrest

The defendant was at home when the detective and other officers executed the warrant at 1:30 a.m. on May 25 and arrested him based on the outstanding warrants.

Trial

Presiding judge and prosecutor

Presiding Judge: William Sherrill Prosecutor: Kathleen Mayer

Trial dates and verdict

Start of Trial: August 9, 1994 Verdict: August 18, 1994

Convictions

Sentencing

Sentencing: December 21, 1994 Aggravating Circumstances: Especially cruel Mitigating Circumstances: Insufficient to outweigh aggravating circumstances or to call for leniency

Spreitz was sentenced to death.

Appeals

The case had published opinions: State v. Spreitz, 190 Ariz. 129, 945 P.2d 1260 (1997); State v. Spreitz, 202 Ariz. 1, 39 P.3d 525 (2002).

Outcome

Sentenced to death on December 21, 1994.

Other details

Spreitz confessed to the murder of Ruby Reid. He claimed that he "picked up" Ms. Reid at a convenience store and that she voluntarily went with him, intending to "party." After they arrived in the desert, he said that Ms. Reid reneged on her promise to have sex with him and that they fought. He stated that Ms. Reid slapped him and that he punched her in the mouth. He admitted further that he removed her clothing and had vaginal intercourse with her. He also confessed that he hit Ms. Reid in the head with a rock more than once to make her stop yelling and then left, not knowing if she were alive or dead.

The initial stop occurred when Officer Batista observed that Spreitz's car was smoking and leaking oil, and Batista had observed the same car earlier that night also smoking and leaking oil. Batista photographed Spreitz and his car, gave him a traffic citation, and then released him. The release occurred no later than 2:30 a.m. on Friday, May 19.

Spreitz said he had been in a fight. Police checked the location of the alleged fight and found no indication any fight had taken place.

Three days later, a passing horseback rider discovered the body of Ruby Reid.