Magalia man convicted of rape and domestic violence

A Butte County jury found a Magalia man guilty on Friday, November 6th, in a case involving three women he had dated. Christopher Lawrence Killion, 25, is scheduled to be sentenced December 9th and could receive 98 years to life in prison, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.

The trial lasted two weeks, and jurors deliberated for less than two hours. Jurors convicted Killion of two counts of forcible rape, as well as forcible sodomy and domestic violence offenses.

Chico police began investigating in 2023 after Killion raped one of the women in her home, prosecutors said. Detectives uncovered abuse involving two other women as the investigation widened. All three testified at trial about sexual and physical abuse that took place between 2021 and 2023.

District Attorney Mike Ramsey said prosecutors explained how Killion used repeated abuse to control his partners. Ramsey credited the women for testifying after years of delays in the case.

Prosecutors said a prior conviction for threatening neighbors in Magalia affects Killion’s potential sentence under California’s Three Strikes law. In 2022, the neighbors called police after hearing a domestic violence incident. Killion remains in the Butte County Jail awaiting sentencing.