Frazier Pleads Guilty in the Death of Thomas Waddell

Zanesville, OH– A Zanesville woman who shot herself with a gun to fake a home invasion and cover up a murder admitted her crimes in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court.

36-year-old Deborah Frazier plead guilty in front of Judge Mark Fleegle to murder with a firearm specification, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.

Authorities said on August 10 of last year, Frazier claimed to have been shot in the leg by two burglars leaving the apartment of her boyfriend, Thomas Waddell.

Waddell’s body was found in a back room of his apartment. Authorities said nothing of value was missing from the home and no security cameras caught the intruders exit.

An autopsy determined Waddell had been killed more than 12 hours before Frazier made the 911 call and forensic searches of Frazier’s internet browsing history revealed numerous searches for information about loading and firing firearms.

Investigators said they also discovered that Frazier had another boyfriend and that the boyfriend had been posing as a bank fraud investigator and calling Waddell. Authorities said this led them to conclude that Frazier’s motive was financial in nature. Ultimately, investigators determined the boyfriend, who gave Frazier rides the night of the killing had no idea that Frazier was in a relationship with Waddell, and had been manipulated by her into making the phone calls.