The murder trial of a Mintlaw man accused of shooting dead his disabled wife is scheduled to go ahead next month, the prosecutor in America has confirmed.
Wayne Fraser, who moved away from the north-east to start a new life abroad, is charged with the first-degree murder of his wheelchair-bound partner.
It’s alleged that the 47-year-old killed Natalie Ryan-Fraser, 55, with the handgun that was recovered from the scene of a shooting in the town of Caledonia in December 2021.
District Attorney Scott Colom, the man leading Fraser’s prosecution, told the Press Journal: “Unless something changes, we plan to have it ready for trial on May 22.
“The defence may request a continuance. I’m not sure of that at this time,” he added.
Natalie had been visiting her foreman husband while he worked for an industrial painting and coating firm based in Hamilton, Mississippi – according to Coroner Greg Merchant.
The day before her death, Natalie – a senior English lecturer at Angelo State University in Texas – checked the couple into a restaurant on Facebook, posting: “Dinner with my love”.
Hours later, she was dead and the husband that she married in 2014 was taken away in handcuffs.
According to a court document obtained by The P&J, the indictment states that Fraser “did feloniously, wilfully and unlawfully with deliberate design to effect the death of Natalie Fraser, a human being, kill Natalie Fraser, without the authority of law and not in necessary self-defence”.
Charged with first-degree murder
The former Mintlaw Academy student, who also attended Banff and Buchan College, was arrested after 8am on Thursday December 30 2021.
Sheriff’s deputies had been conducting a welfare check at an apartment on Cedar Street, Caledonia, when they discovered Natalie’s body and a 9mm firearm, Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said.
Fraser has been locked up at Lowndes County Adult Detention Center ever since, despite a bail bond of $500,000 being set.
Criminal court cases that could result in the death penalty or extended imprisonment, following a guilty verdict, first require an indictment before a prosecution can begin.
On April 25 last year, Fraser was charged with first-degree murder.
It followed a Grand Jury’s decision that the prosecution had provided enough evidence to suggest that the alleged crime may have been committed and that the accused should go on trial.
Not a death penalty case
Natalie’s family has confirmed that her loved ones will attend proceedings at the Sixteenth Circuit Court of Mississippi.
Her Texas-based brother Brint Ryan, a tax consultant and entrepreneur whose firm is worth $2.5 billion, will travel to Lowndes County Court next month.
He said: “We are working closely with the Office of the District Attorney in Lowndes County, Mississippi.
“We will be in attendance at the trial. I don’t want to comment further on this matter publicly.”
Judge James T Kitchens Jr, a circuit judge with more than 20 years of experience and who previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney for over six years in the same Circuit, will preside over the murder trial.
If he is found guilty of first-degree murder, Fraser will not receive the death penalty as punishment, even though it still exists in the state of Mississippi.
It only applies to people who are convicted of capital murder, the most serious charge, which involves very particular circumstances of unlawful killing.
Those crimes would include the murder of a ‘peace officer’ (police officer, judge, fireman); contract killings; murder by explosive device; or murder as part of rape, burglary, kidnapping, arson, robbery, sexual battery, or sex with any child under the age of 12.
Fraser facing life without parole
Jacob Howard, Legal Director of the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law, said Fraser faces at least 20 years in prison if found guilty.
He explained: “If Mr Fraser is convicted of first-degree murder, there is only one penalty – life imprisonment. It will be imposed by the judge.
“Under the Mississippi parole statute, he will not be eligible for parole. However, there is a provision of the code that authorizes him to petition his sentencing judge for ‘conditional release’ (which is like parole; it is release with conditions) once he has reached the age of 65 and served at least 15 years of his sentence.
He added: “If Mr Fraser is convicted of second-degree murder, only a jury can sentence him to life imprisonment.
“If the jury does not impose a life sentence, the judge can sentence him to 20-40 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole.
“However, if he is sentenced to life imprisonment, he’ll be eligible to petition his sentencing judge for ‘conditional release’ once he has reached the age of 65 and served at least 15 years of his sentence.”
Victim confined to wheelchair since she was a teenager
Following Natalie’s tragic death, Angelo State University renamed its department of English and modern languages after their now deceased long-term faculty member.
Education officials hosted a dedication ceremony on November 7 last year.
It’s understood that Natalie was confined to a wheelchair as a teenager, following a car crash that happened while she was drink-driving at the age of 17.
Her mum Virginia was killed by her boyfriend three years later when he ran over her with a truck.
He was reportedly found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and given a year-long jail sentence.
Wayne Fraser’s defence attorney Chance Fair, of Tompkins Law Firm, has not responded to the Press and Journal’s requests for comment.
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