Extortion, sex request prompted shooting of women by JPS manager: affidavit

Two women were shot to death Saturday evening by a John Peter Smith Hospital manager after they attempted to extort more money from him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Witness Sierra McMahan told police she and Krista McClellan extorted about $8,000 from Christopher Wall on Friday after they convinced him that they had recorded him soliciting them for sex during a massage, the affidavit states.

McMahan stated McClellan and Ashley Pohorence contacted Wall on Saturday, and McMahan assumed they set up a meeting with Wall to get more money from him, according to the arrest warrant affidavit, obtained by the Star-Telegram on Monday.

Wall met with Pohorence, 23, and McClellan, 21, both from Arlington, on Saturday evening, and the two women were shot and killed, police said.

Wall, 33, of Weatherford, was arrested without incident early Sunday at the home of his parents in Weatherford.

The warrant gave this account of the incident:

Wall had contacted the women for a massage on the social media site Backpage.com. McMahan and McClellan went to his JPS office Friday.

It was on Friday that the women got about $8,000 from Wall via extortion, according to the affidavit.

After being contacted Saturday by the women, Wall supplied them the address of a Willow Park bank as a meeting place.

McMahan drove with the two women and stayed in a vehicle as Pohorence and McClellan got in a maroon vehicle with Wall.

After a few minutes, McClellan and Pohorence began to hurriedly exit the maroon vehicle, and Wall got out and began shooting at them, according to the affidavit.

McMahan told police she drove to a convenience store across the street, and saw Wall drive away from the bank parking lot.

As of Monday, McMahan is still considered a witness, Police Chief Carrie West said in a Monday telephone interview.

“We still are following up on leads,” West said. “The investigation is ongoing.”

Wall remained in the Parker County Jail, facing a charge of capital murder.

Wall is the director of behavioral health administration and quality at the Fort Worth hospital, a position he has held since July, according to JPS records.

He was placed on unpaid administrative leave Sunday pending the outcome of the investigation.

According to hospital records, the director of behavioral health administration and quality is under the direct supervision of the senior vice president/behavioral health administrator and collaborates with the director of psychiatric nursing. Wall’s job has administrative authority over the administrative and support staff, directs, monitors, and evaluates the services provided while overseeing the day-to-day operations of the inpatient and ambulatory services.

“There is no clinical work involved,” JPS spokeswoman J.R. Labbe said Sunday.

Labbe said JPS Health Network team members are deeply saddened by the loss of life that occurred in Willow Park.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of everyone affected by this tragedy,” Labbe said Sunday.

Wall was hired by the hospital in June 2007 as a nurse in adolescent psychiatry, records show.

After the shooting, a caller told a dispatcher there were two females shot in a Willow Park bank parking, West said.

Police found the bodies and a few hours later Wall, 33, was taken into custody in Weatherford, authorities said.

A dispatcher had received a call from a male about 6:43 p.m. Saturday. “We’ve identified that caller and it was not the suspect,” West said.

The bodies were located Saturday evening in the parking lot of First Financial Bank in the 4100 block of Interstate 20.

Hudson Oaks Police Department, Parker County Sheriff's Office and Texas Rangers assisted in the investigation.

This story was originally published November 6, 2017 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Extortion, sex request prompted shooting of women by JPS manager: affidavit."