Self-defense claim in slaying of dominatrix's husband

On trial for murder, the defendant in a dominatrix deal gone sour claimed self-defense in testimony Thursday afternoon.

Kalif V. Lewis, 27, of West Philadelphia, paid the dominatrix $100 and shot and killed her husband shortly afterward, both prosecutors and the defense say.

While Lewis' defense maintains that the shooting was a last resort, Assistant District Attorney Richard Sax has argued that it was a robbery gone bad.

The incident occurred Dec. 17, 2009, at the Residence Inn near Philadelphia International Airport. The defense and prosecution both agree that Lewis left the hotel room after having sex and returned. Lewis testified that he came back because he thought about $100 was missing from his wallet.

Shanet Foust, 28, testified in Common Pleas Court that Lewis tried to rob her and that she called her husband, Tyre West, for help. When West arrived, she said, Lewis killed him.

Lewis, however, testified that West entered the room with a gun drawn and pointed it at him. He said West shot at him first.

"I was like a deer in headlights," Lewis said to defense attorney Gerald A. Stein. "I was scared. That's when he fired."

Lewis said he ducked into the bathroom just as West fired. Dodging the bullet "by the grace of God," he said, he then quickly loaded his handgun and returned fire with one shot around a wall.

The bullet hit West, who fled but dropped dead directly outside the door, Lewis said.

Lewis said that when he realized the money was missing, he had called Foust from a different cellphone under another name to schedule a meeting, keeping her in the room long enough to him to return.

Closing arguments in the jury trial before Judge M. Teresa Sarmina are scheduled for Friday.