A north-east man who’s accused of shooting his disabled wife dead in America will go on trial for her alleged murder in a matter of weeks.
Wayne Fraser, from Mintlaw, has been locked up in a Mississippi jail since his partner Natalie Ryan-Fraser, 55, was discovered dead a year ago today.
He was arrested after police carried out a welfare check at an apartment in the town of Caledonia where they found the wheelchair-bound woman’s body at around 8am on December 30.
Fraser, who was aged 45 at the time, was led away from the Cedar Street property in handcuffs and a handgun was recovered at the scene, Lowndes County Sheriff has said.
Now a justice official has told The Press and Journal that the Scot is scheduled to appear in the dock at the Circuit Court on February 27 next year.
She said: “A trial date is set with the court for somewhere around February 27th.
“His case does have a court date of February 27, with a possible trial date at that time.
“So, barring any continuations from the lawyers or the court system, he may be going to trial at that point in time.”
Wayne Fraser indicted for wife’s murder
In May, Fraser was indicted for murder by a Grand Jury at Lowndes County Court, allowing the District Attorney to move forward with his prosecution.
A court had previously set a bail bond of $500,000, although Fraser has remained behind bars ever since.
On December 9, the ex-pupil of Mintlaw Academy and former Banff and Buchan College student was transported from Lowndes County Adult Detention Center to a meeting with his defence lawyer to prepare for his case.
The southern US state of Mississippi has the death penalty reserved for the most heinous convicted criminals.
But Fraser is not facing death by lethal injection if he is found guilty because he is not charged with capital murder – the most serious offence.
Instead, he’s charged with the lesser felony of murder, which carries a potential sentence of life imprisonment.
Natalie’s last Facebook post
The full circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of Natalie Ryan-Fraser, who was a senior English instructor at Angelo State University in Texas, are not yet known.
On December 29 last year – just a day before she died – Natalie had posted on Facebook that she was out for a romantic meal with Fraser, who she described as “my love”.
She 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 couple had been together for more than 10 years and got married in 2014.