Tecumseh man arrested after claiming wife committed suicide

TECUMSEH, Okla. (KFOR) — A Tecumseh man went to his neighbor's home and said his wife shot herself, but police said the crime scene painted a different picture.

"When the officers arrived, the scene looked like everything other than a suicide," said Chief JR Kidney, with the Tecumseh Police Department.

According to the affidavit, when officers arrived at the Tecumseh home on Friday, September 13, Bradley Frye was performing CPR on his wife.

She was shot in the face, a 12-gauge shotgun laid behind him and the kitchen table was broken in half.

Investigators said the bullet wound on her face was filled with Vaseline.

"Immediately our officers notified our investigator who came to the scene and agreed that this did not look like a suicide," said Kidney.

Frye told officers two stories, including that he walked in on her shooting herself and also that the gun went off while they were arguing.

"I heard originally he made some comments and different stuff. We believe there to be some alcohol involved," said Kidney.

Court documents detailed how Frye suffers from schizophrenia.

The couple have children who had recently been taken from the home by grandparents who were reportedly worried for their safety.

The grandfather told police he was running an errand and getting dinner when he arrived home to find the chaos.

"There were things in the house that were just disarray, dining room area. A table had been smashed, chairs turned upside down," said Kidney.

Police said the victim's journal indicated she was being abused by her husband and wanted to leave.

"The decision was made to go ahead and make an arrest for second degree murder.
Then yesterday morning, our investigator met with the Pottawattamie County District attorney's office, and the decision was made to upgrade that to first degree murder," said Kidney.

Police told News 4 they have not been called to the home for domestic violence before.