A killer husband waited hours before reporting that his American wife had been fatally shot, the man who prosecuted him has said.
In an exclusive interview, District Attorney Scott Colom also revealed Natalie Ryan-Fraser, 55, suffered domestic violence from north-east Scots expat Wayne Fraser.
Her abusive 47-year-old partner was jailed for 20 years on Friday night, when the Mississippi prosecutor secured his conviction from a jury.
They unanimously found the man from Aberdeenshire guilty of manslaughter after he fired his spouse’s handgun at the disabled woman’s neck on December 30 2021.
The paralysed Texas-based university professor was sitting in her wheelchair at the time, Fraser later told the police probe.
“Emails between them show that he had been committing domestic abuse against her and photos that she had showed evidence of domestic abuse – black eyes; bruises on her face,” Mr Colom added.
‘He waited five hours instead of calling 911 right away’
Fraser, a former pupil of Mintlaw Academy and student at Banff and Buchan College, had claimed the couple had been “playing” with the deadly weapon which he “accidentally” fired.
The industrial painting and coating foreman offered several different versions of events to explain what happened but troubling “inconsistencies” made investigators wary.
During a trial at Lowndes County Court House in the southern city of Columbus, it emerged that Fraser phoned one of Natalie’s brothers on the morning of her death.
He told Kory Ryan that his sibling had shot herself, prompting Mr Ryan to alert Sheriff’s deputies who arrived at an apartment on Cedar Street, Caledonia, around 8am.
“He told law enforcement she was killed at 2am,” Mr Colom remarked, adding: “That was very suspicious.
“He had waited five hours to contact anyone and tell them what happened instead of calling 911 right away.”
Evidence from the State Medical Examiner’s Office (SMEO) proved crucial in convincing jurors that they couldn’t believe Fraser’s claims.
Testimony from the SMEO representative highlighted the forensic science that helped to cast doubt on Fraser’s defence of Natalie’s horrific ordeal.
“It was a distance gunshot wound, which meant that he had to be at least 2ft away from her when he shot the gun,” Mr Colom explained.
“The entry wound was in the left of the front of her neck and the exit wound was in the back of her neck on the right side, so, he had to be in front of her.”
Court shown deceased Natalie’s vacant wheelchair
In an emotive tactic, the District Attorney put Natalie’s wheelchair on display to jurors as they took in testimony about her final moments with Fraser and the fatal injury that she suffered.
The prosecutor added: “We were trying to disprove his version of events about how close he was to her when the shot went off to show that the trajectory of the bullet was inconsistent with her sitting down and him standing up because it was an upward trajectory”.
After hearing four days of evidence the jury took three hours to reach its verdict.
They returned to the courtroom for Fraser to learn his fate.
He had been facing the possibility of life imprisonment if he was found guilty of the serious homicide offence of first-degree murder, a charge he had denied.
But he was cleared unanimously by the twelve men and women who had deliberated over all of the evidence.
Instead, they convicted him of the less serious crime of culpable negligent manslaughter.
It means that Fraser may be eligible for parole once he serves half of his 20-year-long jail term.
Fraser also has the right to appeal the court case’s outcome.
Read more about the trial:
Guilty: Killer Mintlaw gun fan turned deadly firearm on his disabled wife
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