Eastpointe Man Charged In Triple Murder After Wife, 2 Kids Strangled With USB Cord
DETROIT (WWJ) - An Eastpointe man charged in the triple killing of his wife and two small children has been ordered held without bond.
The Macomb County Prosecutor's office has charged 38-year-old Timothy Fradeneck with first degree and felony murder, along two counts of child abuse after autopsy results released Wednesday indicated all three had been strangled.
Prosecutors accuse Fradeneck of strangling 37-year old Christie Fradeneck, her 2-year-old daughter Celeste and 8-year old son Timothy, known as "Tre", in their home. Their bodies were found Monday after a concerned family member called for a welfare check.
According to testimony at an arraignment Wednesday, Timothy Fradeneck told police he'd been thinking about killing his family since last August, and acted on the plan Sunday night because the opportunity presented itself.
He was arrested at the scene after answering the door for officers.
"Timothy advised officers that his family was dead and that he had killed them by strangulation, pointing out the USB cable he had used to commit the murders," Eastpointe Police Detective Matthew Hambright told the judge.
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith would not comment as to a possible motive or defense.
"For some reason he had been contemplating this, and told them he had been contemplating this, and went down the line and murdered all three of them," Smith said. "So, whatever his defense is is immaterial to me at this time, and we'll deal with that in court...but right now we feel pretty confident with all of our charges."
"We don't have to prove why he did this," Smith added, "only that he did it, and he did it with premeditation, and we feel pretty confident that we're going to be able to prove that."
Authorities have said there had been no previous reported incidents of domestic violence at the home, on Cushing Ave., near Gratiot and 9 Mile.
Bond was denied for Fradeneck.
Smith said, with these murders, there have been 16 homicides the Macomb County this year, including five children.
"I don't know what to do to get in front of this, other than tell people in the general public that we need to be more involved as a community," Smith said. "When you're worried about family members being in domestic violence situations...or you're concerned about a child in a home, we can all get involved in that."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to accept donations to help with the Fradenecks' funeral costs.