A Zanesville, Ohio, woman who needed to research how to load a gun before shooting herself and faking a home invasion to cover up a murder in August 2023 has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies.
The Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Monday that Deborah L. Frazier, 36, pleaded guilty to murder with a firearm, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.
Police responded to a call from Frazier on August 10, 2023, saying she had been shot in the leg by two burglars as they left her boyfriend's apartment.
The body of her boyfriend, Thomas Waddell, was discovered by responding officers in a back room of her apartment, wrapped in a blanket and a trash bag secured with duct tape.
OHIO MOTHER RECEIVES LIFE SENTENCE AFTER HER CHILD DIED WHILE SHE WAS LEFT AT HOME ALONE DURING 10 DAYS OF VACATION
Deborah Frazier of Zanesville, Ohio, pleaded guilty Monday to murder with a firearm, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. (Muskingum County Prosecutors Office)
Frazier initially claimed she entered the apartment and found intruders inside, although nothing of Waddell's was missing, including his firearms.
Police also could not find video footage from doorbells and surveillance cameras in the area showing suspected intruders entering or fleeing the premises.
When an autopsy was performed on Waddell's body, it was discovered that he had been killed more than 12 hours before Frazier called 911, and forensic searches of the Waddell's Internet browsing history suspect revealed several searches for information about loading and firing firearms.
According to the statement of facts provided by the prosecutor's office, Frazier stood behind Waddell as he sat in his recliner, raised his .22 caliber pistol, pointed it at the back of Waddell's head and executed him. in his living room.
OHIO MOTHER KRISTEL CANDELARIO PLEADS GUILTY TO AGGRAVATED MURDER AND CHILD ENDANGERING
Zanesville Police Department officials went to Thomas Waddell's apartment on April 10, 2023, where they found his body wrapped in a blanket and bag, secured with duct tape. (Google Maps)
Frazier and Waddell had had an on-and-off relationship for years, and he was significantly older than her, but known for reaching out and helping those in need.
When Frazier called police to report the fabricated shooting, she claimed her house had been ransacked and the door left open. On the phone, she shouted that men were inside the house before the sound of a gunshot could be heard.
Frazier then cried that she had been shot, and every Zanesville Police Department officer who was working responded to the scene.
When officers arrived, they found Frazier in the entryway of the apartment bleeding from a gunshot wound to his leg. She told police that masked white men came out of her apartment and shot her as they left. A police officer applied a tourniquet to Frazier's leg and she was taken to the hospital. Next to her on the ground was a .22 caliber revolver.
TWO OHIO WOMEN FACING MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES AFTER RAISING MAN DEAD IN CAR, GOING TO BANK TO WITHDRAW HIS MONEY
Inside a courtroom with a gavel in sight. (iStock)
During the investigation, detectives searched forensic software to examine Frazier's phone. The detective found searches between August 5 and 9 for “How to Load a Gun”, “How to Load a Revolver Pistol”, “How to Know What Ammo Your Gun Uses”, “How to Decock the Hammer of a Pistol “. revolver”, “what 22 ammo looks like” and “the worst place to get hit in the head”.
When detectives investigated the duct tape used to wrap Waddell's body, they found Frazier's hair.
The investigation revealed a litany of evidence suggesting that Frazier acted alone and that others were deceived by her manipulation and lies, according to the prosecutor's office.
The statement of facts also states that the totality of the circumstances and results of the searches, court orders and more point to Frazier's “intentional killing” of Waddell with a firearm, as well as his attempted cover up the crime by creating false evidence and shooting himself. .
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Frazier deserves and will serve a life sentence for his crime,” said Assistant District Attorney John Litle. “This plea allows him to accept responsibility and eliminates the risks associated with a trial on the gruesome, tabloid-worthy facts of this case.”