She Faked Being a Nurse and a Home Invasion and Shot Herself After Killing Her Boyfriend

The Background Deborah L. Frazier (then ~35–36) and Thomas Waddell (66) were in an on-again, off-again romantic relationship for years; they met while working at Kroger (Waddell had recently retired). They lived together for months at 3231 Sandhurst Drive, Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio. Waddell was significantly older; the home contained shared items such as Valentine’s Day cards and cookbooks. Frazier was simultaneously involved with another man, John Anderson (on-and-off for about 10 years). She told Anderson she was Waddell’s live-in nurse caring for a dementia/Alzheimer’s patient and manipulated him into leaving a voicemail posing as a PNC Bank fraud investigator. Motive was financial: the pair shared a PNC bank account drawn down to about $2,000; Frazier created a fake email account (pncfraudulentclaims@gmail.com) to send herself messages simulating fraud claims involving Waddell, and searched for PNC logos and bank-fraud information. The Crime After days of planning, on the evening of August 9, 2023 (around 9 p.m.), Frazier stood behind Waddell as he sat in his living-room recliner, raised his .22-caliber revolver (purchased by him in 1990), aimed at the back of his head, and shot him once, killing him. She then wrapped his body in trash bags, duct tape, and a comforter (with Velcro straps used to drag it) and moved it to a back bedroom. On August 10, 2023, at approximately 1:26 p.m., she called 911 claiming she had just arrived, found the door ajar and the apartment ransacked, and encountered two masked white male burglars who shot her in the leg as they fled (a quiet gunshot was heard on the call). A .22 revolver was found near her. Nothing of value (including multiple firearms) was missing; the “ransacking” appeared superficial. The Investigation Autopsy (Licking County Forensic Pathologist Dr. Jeff Lee) determined Waddell had been dead more than 12 hours before the 911 call and was murdered within about 4 hours of 9 p.m. on August 9. No security/Ring/business/SEAT bus video or witnesses showed intruders fleeing; neighborhood canvass found none. The apartment showed no typical home-invasion indicators (drugs, forced entry of value, etc.). Frazier’s phone (searched via warrant) contained deleted searches: “How to load a gun” (Aug. 5), “How to load a revolver pistol,” ammo questions (Aug. 6), “How to uncock the hammer on a revolver,” “what does 22 ammo look like,” “worst place to get hit in the head” (Aug. 9), and “How long does GSR stay on skin” (Aug. 10 morning). She initially denied handling the gun that wounded her, then changed her story when told she would be tested for GSR. Forensic evidence: Only Frazier’s and Waddell’s DNA on the trash bags/duct tape; Frazier’s DNA and hair on the duct tape/straps; a single glove in a nearby bookbag had Frazier’s DNA and GSR consistent with the murder (not the later self-shooting); the revolver had two fired cartridges matching both wounds. Cell-phone location data placed Frazier at the scene at the relevant times and corroborated Anderson’s account of driving her around afterward (Waddell’s phone went offline). A latent print matched a deceased man (David Eugene Grantham) whose death Frazier had previously reported (ruled accidental overdose); investigators concluded she acted alone and had a history of fabricating attacks (including a June 2023 Dillon State Park claim involving a fabricated counselor). More than 20 warrants/orders were issued for phones, emails, financials, etc. Conviction and Sentencing Frazier was charged (initially including murder counts, felonious assault, tampering, domestic violence) and later pleaded guilty on March 18, 2024, in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court (before Judge Mark C. Fleegle) to murder with a firearm specification, tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse (case CR2023-0589). The plea was supported by the detailed Statement of Facts. She was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 23 years (first possible eligibility reported around August 2046). Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle stated she “deserves and will serve a life sentence.”