Ohio Woman Pleads Guilty to Killing Boyfriend, Shooting Herself to Fake Burglary While on the Phone with Cops

Mar. 15, 2025

Deborah L. Frazier.Photo:Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office

Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office

A woman in Ohio pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend after previously claiming that he had been shot dead and that she had been injured during a robbery at his apartment.

The Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office shared in anews releasethat Deborah L. Frazier, 36, from Zanesville, pleaded guilty to murder with a firearm specification, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse in connection to the death of her boyfriend Thomas Waddell. Her plea was made during a hearing at Muskingum County Common Pleas Court on Monday.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found Waddell “wrapped in a blanket and a garbage bag and secured with duct tape” in the back room of his apartment.

An autopsy done on Waddell revealed that he had been dead “more than 12 hours” before Frazier called police and that he “had been murdered within around 4 hours” of 9:00 p.m. local time on Aug. 9, 2023.

Deborah L. Frazier.Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office

Investigators later determined that Frazier had another boyfriend at the time, who authorities say she “manipulated” into “posing as a bank fraud investigator” in order to make calls to Waddell. However, police noted that he had not known she was also dating Waddell.

Days later, a forensic search of Frazier’s phone revealed that she had searched for information relating to “how to load a revolver pistol” and “how to uncock the hammer on a revolver,” per the document. Officers also found Frazier’s DNA on the trash bags and duct tape around Waddell’s body when he was found.

“After days of planning, on the evening of Aug. 9, 2023, Deborah Frazier stood behind Thomas Waddell as he sat in his recliner. She raised his .22 caliber pistol, aimed it at the back of his head, and executed him in his living room,” theStatement of Factsfrom the plea read. “She then set about covering up her crime in dramatic, but unsuccessful fashion.”

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“Frazier deserves and will serve a life sentence for her crime,” Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle said in a release. “This plea allows her to accept responsibility and eliminates the risks associated with a trial on the horrific and tabloid-esque facts of this case.”

source: people.com