Slain Castro Man's Lover Displayed Strange Behavior Days Before Murder

By Andy Sywak

The body of Castro resident Robert Christopher was discovered in his first-floor apartment at 98 Castro St. on July 28. The 56 year-old doctoral candidate in clinical psychology was found beaten and stabbed.

Four days later on Aug. 1, Christopher’s lover, David Wehrer, 27, killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being pulled over by police at the intersection of McAllister and Baker streets. The two had had a tumultuous relationship with reports of substance abuse and sporadic violence.

Wehrer had been wanted as a person of interest in Christopher’s death and was also a suspect in a carjacking and attempted bank robbery in West Portal. Wehrer’s father was driving the car and his son shot himself in the back seat.

The apartment building sits in a quiet stretch of Castro Street across the street from McKinley School and the Davis Campus of the California Pacific Medical Center. Patrick Courtney of Courtney’s Produce Market, which sits diagonally across from Christopher’s apartment building, has said he has been held up many times throughout the 40 years it has been in business, but the area does not usually see much crime.

Christopher's neighbors had grown suspicious about drug dealing going on in his apartment. According to a cashier at a nearby store who wished to remain anonymous, Wehrer came by the store on a day shortly before the murder and selected a sandwich costing three dollars. When it came time to pay, he produced a $100 bill. When asked if he had anything smaller, he searched through the pockets of the military-style pants he was wearing and came up wtih seven one hundred dollar bills. Finally, he produced a $50 bill which was accepted.

The cashier said that Wehrer would often show up at the store with what appeared to be bruises on his face. The last time he showed up he had a gash on his forehead and two bruises on each side of his face.

Copyright 2009 Castro Courier