Son arrested eight months after he 'shot dead his extreme sports mogul father and then married a witness so she wouldn't testify'
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Charged: Chris Northam, 25, was arrested Wednesday for shooting his father to death with a rifle in May of last year in Roseville, California
The son of a wealthy extreme sports owner has been arrested for his father's murder, with police concluding that the motive was money.
Christopher Dale Northam, 44, was a budding sports mogul when he was found dead inside his extreme sports complex on May 30 of last year.
Police arrested his 25-year-old son, Christopher Jon Michael Northam, for premeditated murder after a long and exhaustive investigation.
They believe that the son was ‘lying in wait’ for his father at the skateboarding park in Roseville, California, before shooting him multiple times with a rifle.
The investigation took eight months and, in the end, police were able to conclude that the junior Northam, who goes by Chris, was in the complex at the same time as his father using Wi-fi and cell phone records.
The elder Mr Northam was the owner of Skim X, a company that specialized in the sport of skim boarding where participants glide over water while standing on a very thin, short surfboard.
While police have concluded that the murder was financially motivated, it is unclear how much the son stood to make off of his father’s death, especially since the son was already an officer in the company.
Before concluding that Chris was responsible for his father’s death, detectives had to rule out a bevy of disgruntled investors, which also contributed to the length of the investigation.
'We want the people so bad,' Mr Northam's father Michael told a local news station in September- when police still hadn't arrested anyone in connection to the murder four months after the fact.
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ShareAt the time, Michael had no way of knowing the person they would charge would be his own grandson.
‘We wanted to rule out as many people as we possibly could,’ Roseville police lieutenant Mark Toubin said in a press conference on Wednesday after the arrest.
Murdered: Christopher Northam, 44, was found shot to death in his skim boarding complex in California
Runs in the family: Both the senior (left) and junior Northam's loved extreme sports, and the father and son are seen riding a motorcycle together when Chris was just a child (right)
‘(Skim X) was constantly seeking new investors,’ Mr Toupin continued.
‘At various points, the business had financial problems.
‘A number of his business dealings were a little bit contentious, and we had to talk to those various suspects in the case and rule them out.’
At the time of the murder, Chris was said to be in debt and behind on his rent.
Police also arrested Chris’ ex-wife Averill Elizabeth Easley, 34, as an accessory to murder after the fact because she gave false information to the police during her interviews and they say that slowed the investigation down.
When Mr Northam was killed, Easley and the junior Northam were dating.
Investigation: Chris (center) and his then-girlfriend Averill Elizabeth Easley (right) were questioned multiple times by police during their 8-month-long investigation into the murder
Contentious couple: Easley (left) filed a restraining order against Northam (right) in December saying that the only reason they got married was so that she wouldn't be required to testify against him about the murder
Behind the smiles: In the restraining order, Easley said that she tried convincing herself that her husband wasn't involved in the murder of his father but now she is convinced of the fact and scared of retribution
They got married shortly after, but according to a restraining order that she filed against in December, the only reason they got married was so that she would have spousal privilege that would prevent her from testifying against him in court.
‘Chris told me that (the marriage) was supposed to keep me from having to testify against him,’ she wrote in the restraining order.
‘I didn’t want to accept that he was involved in this murder, but now with his actions… I am completely convinced and now terribly scared that he could hurt me.’
Easley was also the one to call 911 after she hearing about the Skim X complex.
Throughout the investigation, Chris maintained his innocence, and while he did not contest the restraining order, his lawyer argued against the claims she made within it.
‘Mr Northam categorically denies the allegations by his wife, however in the interest of closure he did not contest her request,’ his lawyer Daniel Nicholson said.
Family ties: In a photo taken a year before the murder, Chris poses with his grandfather- his father's father Michael
Distraught: Michael Northam begged for police to capture his son's killer in September- not knowing the culprit was his own grandson
Chris seemed to hope that all of the drama of his father’s murder and the annulment of his marriage would be left in 2011, posting a lengthy message on Facebook just before the New Year.
‘I have experienced the worst year of my entire life,’ he wrote on December 30.
‘I lost my Dad in the most tragic way possible, lost our business that we built together and had dreams of accomplishing, and lost my family (my wife and step son). I don't know anyone that has gone through what I have this year.
‘In some cases I am looking forward to the new year but I also know I will shed a few tears for the losses I have endured this year. I will miss those who I have lost.’
Both Northam and Easley were arrested on Wednesday- he at a traffic stop and she at a gym- and they are scheduled to make their first court appearance on Friday.
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