A fender-bender last Thursday in Macomb County resulted in a Saturday arrest and then a Tuesday arraignment for a Sanilac County man after the body of a 62-year-old woman was found in the bed of the pick-up truck he was driving.
Stephen Freeman, age 19 of Lexington, rear-ended another vehicle at the intersection of Common and Hayes roads just after noon on October 27, fleeing from the scene before Roseville and Warren police arrived.
Authorities first thought it was a typical hit-and-run case, but then they opened the pickup truck’s bed and found the body of Roseville resident Gabriele Seitz there. Police do not believe her death was caused by the crash, with an autopsy currently pending, but they did learn that the truck belonged to Seitz.
Freeman was arrested Saturday afternoon in Waterford, and now is charged with concealing the death of an individual and of receiving and concealing a body. His bond is currently set at $75,000 surety only, with a GPS tether required after release.
Though there is no murder charge being pursued against Freeman right now, it was revealed during Tuesday’s arraignment that a shoelace had been found around the victim’s neck.
Freeman is next due in court on November 9 for his probable cause hearing. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.
