Trial begins for 2nd man accused of homicide in 2021 shooting at Club Erotica

An Allegheny County prosecutor called the homicide trial of Khalil Walls “a case about a death that never needed to happen.”

The defense agreed, telling the jury that if the alleged victim had not acted with “constant, purposeful, relentless” aggression, he would still be alive.

Defense attorney Kenneth Haber said in his opening statement Tuesday that Walls did what he had to do.

“What was in his head when he found himself in that situation — a situation not at all of his making — is what you should decide,” Haber said.

Walls, 27, of Carrick, is charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide and aggravated assault stemming from an incident at Club Erotica in McKees Rocks on Nov. 29, 2021.

Two men were killed early that morning. Charles Becher, 25, of Carnegie, was charged in the shooting death of Seth McDermit, 31, of Monongahela, while Walls was charged with killing Christopher Butler, 22, of West Mifflin.

A jury found Becher guilty of third-degree murder last year, but Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani threw out the conviction. The case is currently on appeal at the state Superior Court.

Walls’ trial, also before Mariani, began Tuesday. It is expected to last seven days and feature extensive security camera footage taken outside of the Island Avenue club.

Assistant District Attorney Ryan Kiray said Butler and McDermit were at Club Erotica that night with several friends, while Walls and Becher were there with a group of their friends.

At one point, Butler became involved in an altercation outside the club with another man, who was beaten severely. After that, Becher’s cousin approached Butler and began yelling at him. He then punched her.

Butler’s friends tried to get him to leave, Kiray told the jury, moving him to a different parking lot — and even punching him to try to “knock some sense into him.”

“They were trying to de-escalate the situation,” the prosecutor said.

But then another of Becher’s cousins went into the bar, got Becher and told him what happened.

They went outside and encountered Butler, McDermit and their group, Kiray said.

Becher, who was licensed to carry a gun, pulled out his weapon and struck Butler with it. But the gun was knocked from Becher’s hand.

“After that, all hell broke loose,” Kiray said.

Becher was sent to the ground, and was punched, kicked, stomped and choked by Butler, McDermit and two of their friends, the defense said.

Haber told the jury that Walls saw Becher under attack and pulled out his own gun to fire warning shots into the ground.

“He had a split-second decision to make when he saw Mr. Becher thrown to the ground with a half-ton of weight kicking and punching,” Haber said. “There was deadly force being used by those four men beating, choking.”

But Kiray said Walls was firing indiscriminately, and one of those shots struck McDermit in the buttocks.

“They were his first shots fired that day, but they would not be the last,” Kiray told the jury.

The attack against Becher stopped, but seconds later, Haber said, Butler circled around and charged at Walls. Walls fired one more time, killing Butler.

Kiray said the jurors would see the shots fired that turned a fistfight into a homicide. He also said that, under Pennsylvania law, Walls was not justified in using deadly force that night and instead had a duty to retreat.

But Haber, in his opening statement to the jury, disagreed.

Haber characterized the victims of the shooting as being members of a biker gang looking for trouble that night.

“Their definition of fun is to get drunk — not just intoxicated, sloppy drunk — (and) do a few lines of cocaine, charge after people, assault women, throw haymakers and stomp people’s skulls into the ground,” he said.

Walls remained inside the club through almost all of the fighting between Becher’s cousins and Butler, Haber said.

Then, when Walls exited the club, he was headed for his car and had no interest in being involved until he saw Becher on the ground, Haber said.

“Mr. Walls did not engage in an act of murder, but rather engaged in an act of self-defense.”