Oregon Man Gets Life for Killing His Son, Child's Mom After Being Ordered to Pay Child Support
An Oregon man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his 3-year-old son and the boy's 25-year-old mom three years ago.
Yamhill County District Attorney Brad Berry confirmed to Law & Crime that a state judge ordered Michael John Wolfe, 55, to serve a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole for murdering Karissa Alyn Fretwell and young William "Billy" Fretwell.
Wolfe pleaded guilty to the double murder last month. He reportedly pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder in William's death and one count of murder in the second degree constituting domestic violence in Karissa's death.
Berry told the outlet that Oregon Circuit Court Judge Eric Bergstrom sentenced Wolfe to life with the possibility for parole in 30 years for the aggravated murder charge as well as a life sentence with the possibility for parole in 25 years for the second-degree murder charge.
Wolfe's sentences will run concurrently. Prosecutors took the death penalty off the table and junked multiple counts of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in exchange for the Oregon man's pleading guilty.
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Oregon Man Murder Case
The courtroom was filled with Karissa Alyn Fretwell's family members and law enforcement officers who investigated the case.
Karissa's mother, Nyla Bales, was wearing a shirt with the picture of Karissa and William with the phrase "gone but not forgotten," according to Statesman Journal.
Bales said her daughter loved her son so much, adding that she was working full time and attending college full time as she tried to make a life for the both of them.
Michael John Wolfe was the little boy's biological son. However, he was not part of the toddler's life, and when he was ordered to pay child support, he killed them a few days later.
The court ordered the Oregon man to pay Karissa $904 a month in April 2019, with the judge signing the ruling on May 10 of the same year. Three days after the ruling was signed, Karissa and her son disappeared from their apartment.
Karissa's family initially refused to talk to the media in the years after the two's murders, not wanting to mess up the criminal case.
Michael John Wolfe and Karissa Alyn Fretwell
According to Salem Reporter, the Oregon man told police that he had an intimate relationship with Karissa Alyn Fretwell about four years earlier.
Michael John Wolfe said his last contact with her was the April child support hearing in Dallas. The two met while she was working delivering sandwiches, calling Jimmy John's almost every day for delivery, asking specifically for Karissa to deliver his food.
Karissa was in her early 20s at the time, while Wolfe was in his late 40s and married. Wolfe's wife then confronted Karissa at the sandwich shop where she worked.
She then called off her relationship with the Oregon man, saying she did not want to end his marriage. It was also the day that she found out she was pregnant.
On June 15, 2019, a group of at least 40 set out to find the bodies of Karissa and her son and discovered them within two hours on a heavily-wooded piece of property owned by the timber company Weyerhaeuser. A gun was also found.
The Oregon man reportedly had a permit to firewood on the property and knew the area well. In 2019, Wolfe was charged with aggravated murder for their deaths. He allegedly killed the Fretwells by May 15, 2019.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Michael Wolfe Pleads Guilty to Fretwell Murders, Will Not Face Death Penalty - From KPTV FOX 12 Oregon
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