Anderson County Jury Finds Christopher Ellis Found Guilty of Murder

Anderson Independent-Mail

From Anderson Independent-Mail
Published: October 21, 2009

Update 10/21/09
Our coverage partners the Anderson Independent Mail reports a jury has found Christopher Ellis, charged in the death of Erica Olson in 2006, guilty of murder.

Update 10/19/09
ANDERSON — A 9-year-old girl told a jury today that she was awakened by screams and saw her mother’s boyfriend stab himself with a knife the night her mother was killed.

The girl was 7 when her mother, Erica Olson, was stabbed to death the night of Oct. 23, 2006.

Olson’s boyfriend, Christopher Ellis, went on trial today in Anderson County Circuit Court on charges of murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and death to a child in utero. Olson was pregnant when she was killed.

The 9-year-old said she had fallen asleep in the living room watching television that night as her mother and Ellis quarreled in another room.

“I heard a scream all of the sudden and woke up,” she said. “I heard my mom screaming … I couldn’t see exactly, but I peeked around the corner and saw blood everywhere. Momma was lying on the floor.”

Ellis grabbed a phone, she said, and then picked up a knife and stabbed himself.

The second day of testimony is expected to resume Tuesday.