Police-killing suspect a newlywed

Amid San Antonio manhunt, he got married, files show

Nearly 24 hours after he is accused of ambushing and fatally shooting San Antonio police detective Benjamin Marconi, but before he was arrested in the crime, Otis Tyrone McKane got married at the Bexar County Courthouse, according to records obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

A marriage license was issued to McKane, 31, and Christian Chanel Fields at 9:27 a.m. Monday, county records show.

The restrictions put in place by the county, including a required 72-hour waiting period before a formal marriage ceremony, were waived by a magistrate and the two wed that day.

The waiver was signed and the marriage ceremony performed by Judge Walden Shelton, the Express-News reported, inside the heavily secured Bexar County Courthouse, while outside local, state and federal law enforcement officials entered day two of their intense, citywide manhunt for Marconi's slayer.

Online and in news reports, authorities circulated surveillance snapshots of a black Mitsubishi with chrome rims in which witnesses said the shooter fled after the slaying, and grainy photos of a man in dark clothing and a Spurs cap that police said was connected to the shooting -- and whom they later identified as McKane.

Less an hour after his marriage license was issued, authorities got a break in the case, a discovery that gave the man in the photos a name and ultimately led to his capture.

At 10:30 a.m. Monday, a San Antonio police officer was responding to an unrelated call on the city's west side when the officer spotted a black Mitsubishi, according to an affidavit obtained by the San Antonio Current. Like the car in the surveillance photos, the vehicle had chrome rims. It was registered to McKane.

Around the same time, the affidavit says, a man at a local tire rental business called investigators to say he recognized the man and the car in the photos from the news.

Weeks ago, he'd sold the rims and tires to McKane, who still stopped by the shop often to pay off the purchases in installments, reported the San Antonio Current.

The identification was further solidified, the affidavit said, when police showed a key witness to the shooting a photo lineup and the man picked out McKane as the shooter. Police used a photo from McKane's driver's license, the Express-News reported.

After tracking him for hours, police arrested McKane at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday in a white Buick and charged him with capital murder, according to reports.

Also inside the car was a woman and a 2-year-old child, police said. Officers did not identify them. The Buick, according to the Express-News, is owned by Fields.

"We are relieved he was taken into custody without further loss of life," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said at a news conference Monday night. "It's a relief for a lot of us. Everyone's looking forward to a good night's sleep."

Later that night, as officers escorted McKane to a patrol car, he told reporters why he shot Marconi, according to reports.

"I've been through several custody battles, and I was upset at the situation that I was in and I lashed out at someone that didn't deserve it," McKane said. "I just want to see my son."

To the family of the slain officer, McKane said he was "sorry."

It was frustration over custody of his son that took McKane to the San Antonio police station Sunday morning, according to reports.

Surveillance video shows a man dressed in a Spurs hat that authorities identified as McKane speaking into an intercom outside police headquarters early Sunday morning, walking through the automatic doors and into the lobby.

Less than 20 seconds later, he walks back out of the building.

While inside, according to the affidavit, McKane asked a service agent if he could speak with someone about a child custody issue, but quickly left when the agent asked follow-up questions. He walked around the block and climbed into the black Mitsubishi with the chrome rims, reports say.

Hours later, surveillance video shows the Mitsubishi twice driving past detective Marconi, who was conducting a traffic stop in front of the police station. On the third pass, according to the affidavit, McKane parked the Mitsubishi behind Marconi's squad car, walked up to the driver-side window and shot Marconi in the face. He then reached inside the window, police said, and shot Marconi again in the back of the head.

Pulling the trigger a second time, the affidavit said, was evidence of the shooter's "intention to execute Detective Marconi."

Marconi, a 50-year-old father and grandfather, had served on the force for 20 years and was a sex crimes detective at the time of his death.

He was also an ally of the gay community, reported ABC affiliate KSAT 12.

The detective was known for his compassionate and empathetic nature, Equality Texas regional field director Robert Salcido Jr., told the TV station, and was "the type of officer that we strive to work with."

"Love is love and everybody's human and deserves respect and dignity. He embodied that," Salcido said. "He supported that wholeheartedly."

A Section on 11/24/2016

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