A Night of Louboutins and a Porsche Ends in Manslaughter Trial

A trial is currently underway for a Houston woman accused of killing a 33-year-old man in April 2023 while he was on a first date. The manslaughter trial of Kristina Chambers, 34, began with jury deliberations starting on Thursday. By 2 p.m. on Friday, the jury had submitted several notes to the court regarding questions about the evidence and the jury charge.

Chambers is accused of killing Joseph McMullin during a first date. She was driving a Porsche 911 Carrera and had been drinking that night. If convicted, the punishment phase would follow with additional testimony focused on how to punish Chambers for McMullin's death. Chambers could face two to 20 years in prison, but she is eligible for probation. The jury may also consider criminally negligent homicide as a lesser offense to manslaughter.

Key Findings from Testimony

Where Chambers Ate and Drank the Night of the Crash

The evening started with Chambers meeting a friend for dinner at Bludorn, a high-end restaurant located at 807 Taft. They split a $198 bottle of wine, along with two martinis and a basil gimlet, according to receipts shown at trial. The total bill was $669, which included additional orders such as prime Israeli osetra caviar, raw oysters, rice with crab, risotto, ravioli, and potato wedges. Chambers signed the bill around 9:30 p.m.

After dinner, the pair moved on to at least four more bars:

• Marfarless at 2006 Peden: She spent $22.10, though no receipt was found.
• Anvil at 1424 Westheimer: She spent $28 on an aviation cocktail and Tito's vodka. She closed out at 11:08 p.m.
• JR's Bar and Grill at 808 Pacific: She spent about $43 on two separate transactions for beverages that included Espolon Reposado tequila, two Tito's vodkas, and a Ketel One vodka. She closed out at 12:57 a.m.
• Lola's Depot at 2327 Grant: She spent $13.25 on two beers and unspecified liquor. She closed out at 2:03 a.m.

A civil lawsuit by the McMullin family against Chambers alleges she made additional stops at Ripcord and The Eagle, but prosecutors did not present evidence of those purchases. Prosecutors believe Chambers purchased about 14 drinks that night but only had six to nine of them herself.

Her attorney conceded that Chambers had been drinking but maintained she was not intoxicated.

Chambers Picked Up a Passenger at Lola's

After drinking with a colleague, hotel bartender Arllette Reyes took an Uber to her neighborhood bar, Lola's Depot, before calling it a night. She went alone but befriended Chambers at the bar. The two struck up a conversation about their lifestyles, but Reyes did not recall if Chambers appeared intoxicated. She remembered Chambers ordering a drink and seemed to be in a "party mood," according to civil court records.

"That's not where my mind was at," Reyes testified. "I was just trying to be in the moment."

Chambers had aspirations to be an influencer and often went out with friends to eat nice food, dress up, and photograph their outings, Reyes said. The conversation moved on to Chambers' excitement for her new car—a Porsche 911 Carrera, a birthday gift from her husband in February.

"She basically told me it was a really nice sports car," Reyes said. "I was hoping I could get a ride in it."

Chambers invited Reyes back to her home on Colquitt—about two miles away from Lola's Depot—to keep the night going and swim in her backyard pool. Chambers closed up her $13.25 tab at 2:03 a.m., and the trio piled into her car. She got in the front passenger seat, while Chambers' friend got into the cramped back seat.

Chambers "took off" and floored it when she turned onto Westheimer from Montrose, Reyes said. She watched Chambers take the turn too widely and end up in the wrong lane of traffic. She overcorrected the turn and veered onto the sidewalk. Reyes was caught off guard by the speed and thought she could die.

She couldn't remember if Chambers said anything as the car sped in McMullin's direction.

"It all happened so fast," Reyes said. "One second we were on the wrong side of the road and then we were going to the right and I saw them. I think I put my hands out. I think I closed my eyes. I felt like there was nothing I could do."

The car slammed into McMullin and then a pole before coming to a stop. She couldn't see Chambers through the deployed airbag. Someone helped them out of the vehicle before paramedics took her and Chambers to a hospital. She fractured her wrist, hurt her back, and split her lip.

The passenger in the backseat, who did not testify, was not wearing a seatbelt, according to testimony.

The first 911 call was reported around 2:25 a.m.

Hospital Found Cocaine and High Alcohol Levels in Her System

A police officer, Joshua Barrera, discovered baggies of powdered cocaine in the backseat of Chambers' car and in her purse. The substance tested positive for the narcotic, according to testimony.

Chambers also tested positive for cocaine at 9:17 a.m. on April 20 while at the hospital, although expert witnesses for Chambers said there's no evidence she used cocaine that night as it remains in the body for two to four days after use. Medical workers noted Chambers had an elevated blood pressure and pulse—traits sometimes associated with cocaine use—but another expert for the defense suggested Chambers was not high on cocaine as her temperature was normal.

She also had high amounts of ethanol in her system but both sides disagreed on how much.

Prosecutors relied on ethanol levels showing Chambers was about four times the legal limit, gleaned at the hospital using plasma from her blood. Chambers contends plasma tests tend to be higher than blood samples reviewed through the city and county labs in cases typically involving alcohol. Analysts from those labs did not testify at the trial.

Her hospital visit prompted other concerns from Chambers' defense team that resulted in prosecutors having to mute portions of police body-worn camera footage as Chambers was not read her rights as required.

Doctors flagged Chambers' fractured foot and diagnosed her with acute alcohol intoxication as she also showed signs of agitation, confusion, and slurred speech. The next day, a social worker spoke to Chambers about her history with alcohol, according to civil court records.

Chambers revealed she would drink four to five alcoholic beverages at least twice a week. She had never undergone treatment for her drinking, but her then-husband had pressured her to cut back, doctors wrote.

Dr. Phil Barker testified that Chambers had "very abnormal behaviors" while in the emergency room. She cried, repeatedly tried getting up from her hospital bed, pulled at IV wires, and undid her restraints, according to police body-worn camera footage.

"At times she was screaming and being aggressive toward staff," Barker said. "She was at times refusing care."

She was given an anti-psychotic medication about 13 minutes before a police officer tested Chambers for possible intoxication by checking her eyes for involuntary movements.

The defense posed questions that the medication could have had a sedative effect on her and impacted the test.

The jury does not ultimately have to determine if Chambers was intoxicated as they only have to conclude she acted recklessly.

Prosecutors initially charged Chambers with intoxication manslaughter but changed the indictment in February to manslaughter.

Chambers Asserts Her Louboutin Got Stuck on Gas Pedal

Chambers gushed about her brand-new Porsche sports car before leaving Lola's Depot the night of the crash. The car, which totaled $149,000, was capable of going from 0 to 100 mph in about 6 seconds, according to testimony.

Defense attorney Mark Thiessen identified Chambers' attire from the night as problematic with the sports car's design. Her open-toed Louboutin heel got stuck onto the gas pedal, he said.

He held up the red-soled heel and wedged the pedal inside the opening for toes during closing arguments.

"It literally fits," Thiessen said.

Reyes, Chambers' passenger during the crash, did not recall Chambers complaining about her heels. The same passenger was not asked about the shoe and whether it contributed to the crash during a May 2024 deposition for the civil case.

A crash reconstruction expert, Jacob Baker, testified Chambers told him her shoe became stuck on the gas pedal and that she tried hitting the brakes as the car drove by the then-Acme Oyster House. He noticed flecks of red paint, likely from the shoe, on the pedal.

"There's no evidence that's inconsistent with her foot being stuck," Baker said.

The judge signed off on criminally negligent homicide as a lesser offense for a jury to consider in their deliberations if they believed Chambers to not be guilty of manslaughter. He initially questioned whether there was testimony about the heel getting stuck "other than the questions from the defense attorney."

Thiessen pointed to Baker's testimony as the foundation of their request.

Baker suggested Chambers' foot fracture was indicative that her foot got stuck.

McMullin's Final Moments with His Date

The first headlines from the fatal wreck noted McMullin was on a first date. At trial, the date, Briana Iturrino, was brought to the witness stand.

She usually didn't go out on Tuesday nights, but McMullin convinced her. The duo met on the OK Cupid dating website about a week earlier and spent the night getting to know each other at AvantGarden for karaoke night, about half a mile down Westheimer from the crash site.

Next thing she knew, the bar was getting ready to close, and the two wanted food. Both were vegetarians, so their options were limited. They agreed on Voodoo Doughnuts and decided to walk.

They were on their way back, food in hand, when Iturrino spotted the headlights speeding toward them.

The vehicle narrowly missed Iturrino and struck McMullin instead. She turned around to find he had been knocked about 30 feet behind them and that he was wedged beneath a vehicle.

She wiped away tears as prosecutors played her 911 call for the jury.

"We were walking and the car hit him," Iturrino cried out as the dispatcher picked up. "I'm outside Voodoo Doughnuts on Westheimer. I was walking with my date and a car came up and hit him."

She started crying on the phone as a dispatcher asked her to start CPR.

Another bystander swooped in to take over the phone call.

Iturrino has since moved to Connecticut. She returned to Houston to testify for the trial, which is currently in the jury's hands.