8-19-2008 Florida:The search for a registered sex offender on the run ended Sunday.
Eddie Martin Frazier, III, of Pensacola, apparently committed suicide Sunday in a wooded area near his Escambia County home according to Escambia County Sheriff’s Spokesman Glenn Austin.
Frazier’s body was discovered at 11 a.m. Sunday off West Hope Drive, which is not far from his Shamrock Drive home.
According to Austin, a K-9 unit found Frazier near a blue tarp about 200 yards into the woods with an adjustable nylon zip cord pulled tightly around his neck.
The first district medical examiner’s office is expected to do an autopsy to determine Frazier’s cause of death.
Attorney General Bill McCollum Friday announced that his CyberCrime Unit has initiated a search for Frazier after he fled pending his arrest on charges of child pornography possession.
Investigators with the CyberCrime Unit discovered Frazier's possession of child pornography during an undercover investigation. Frazier was last seen in Pensacola and was the first CyberCrime fugitive featured on the Attorney General's Most Wanted website, http://www.myfloridalegal.com/mostwanted.
Frazier was convicted in 1998 on the charge of "lewd fondle or assault, commit or simulate sexual acts on or in the presence of a child under 16 in a lewd, lascivious or indecent manner." He was sentenced to two years in prison and five years probation in that case.
A search warrant was executed Wednesday at Frazier's Pensacola residence with the assistance of the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, the Pensacola Police Department and the FBI. Several computers and other items of digital evidence were recovered from his home. Later, CyberCrime investigators and detectives from Pensacola Police Department conducted forensic reviews on two of the computers from Frazier's home and found numerous images of child pornography.
Since Frazier’s death Attorney General McCollum’s office have stop their criminal investigation, but they will still examine his computer to see if possible victims can be identified.
Frazier was expecting to be charged with one count of promoting the sexual performance of a child, a second-degree felony, and 10 counts of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony. If convicted of all charges, he faces up to 65 years in prison.
The new Northwest Florida office of the CyberCrime Unit, which opened in late July, was very involved in the search for Frazier. The Northwest Florida Office is located within the Santa Rosa Kids House, a nonprofit child advocacy center housing multiple agencies and organizations dedicated to assisting victims of child abuse and their families through the legal and healing process.
This particular office is unique in that it combines the resources of the Attorney General's experts in the investigation and prosecution of online child predators and pornographers with the resources of the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Guardian Ad Litem program, the Santa Rosa County School Board, NAS Whiting Field and the Favor House. ..News Source.. by BILL GAMBLIN
Man wanted on child-porn charges commits suicide
A man wanted on possession of child pornography charges committed suicide Sunday in a wooded area near his Escambia County home, Sheriff's spokesman Glenn Austin said.
Austin said the body of Eddie Martin Frazier III was discovered by deputies about 11 a.m. off West Hope Drive not far from Frazier's Shamrock Drive home. Frazier contacted an investigator with the Attorney General's Office Saturday to say there was a letter for his mother at his residence, according to Sheriff's Office reports.
Frazier also called a neighbor about 10:30 a.m. Sunday to discuss his final plans. Frazier told the neighbor he would be found at the end of Hope Drive under a blue tarp, Austin said. The Sheriff's Office brought a K-9 unit to the area and found Frazier near a blue tarp about 200 yards into the woods.
Austin said deputies found Frazier with an adjustable nylon zip cord pulled tightly around his neck. The medical examiner's office has scheduled an autopsy to determine his cause of death, Austin said.
The Attorney General's Office stopped their criminal investigation of Frazier due to his death. But investigators will still examine Frazier's computer to see if possible victims can be identified. ..News Source.. by Sean Dugas sdugas@pnj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment