Court Documents Describe Suspect's Past

By Teresa Jun, KOLD News 13

A search of public court records offers a bit of background into 28-year-old Christopher Mathew Payne, the man arrested in connection with an infant girl found in a rental storage unit in mid-town.  Payne is facing charges of first-degree murder and child abuse.

The court documents show, Payne was married, divorced, and had two young children.  It's too early to know whether this information is related to the murder he was arrested for, but the papers offer new perspective into Payne's background.

Christopher mathew payne got married in 2002, according to a marriage certificate obtained through the Pima County courts public records.  Court records also show that just a year later, his wife filed divorce papers against him, and took custody of their two children: a little girl born in 2002, plus a boy born in 2001.

In those divorce papers, Payne's ex-wife requested limited visitation of the kids by Payne, citing "fear of kidnapping them and putting them in physical danger or violent environment."  There are also references to alcohol use, drugs, and domestic violence.

Friday night, at the home of Payne's ex-wife in the Catalina area, north of Tucson, neighbors say she is grieving, but offered no other information, nor confirmation of what happened.

And police are still not confirming any possible connections, until their investigation is complete.  Tucson police are not revealing whether the victim was Payne's own child.  In fact, they're not even revealing the identity of the girl, or her parents and family.  Investigators are still waiting until they can follow up on a few more leads before releasing that information publicly.