christina-bartley-jpg-5

MARION COUNTY — A Marion County jury found a 30-year-old Salem woman not guilty Thursday of first-degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of her boyfriend in the home they shared.

Christina Bartley was arrested more than a year after shooting 31-year-old Wesley Bivens to death in the hallway of the couple’s home. Bartley admitted to shooting Bivens but said she did so after he went after her and was trying to hit her.

The jury deliberated for just over three hours Thursday before returning the not-guilty verdict. Bartley was only facing the single charge of first-degree murder.

She wasn’t arrested and charged in the case until more than a year after the incident.