A murder charge was added Tuesday to the two criminal counts already against 19-year-old Stephen Freeman, who was arrested after police found a body in the bed of a pickup truck he was driving during an October fender-bender.
Authorities believe that on October 27, Freeman entered the home of 62-year-old Gabriele Seitz through a window while she was away. Upon her arrival home, police believe the two fought, with the prosecutor’s press release noting that the altercation “result[ed] in [Seitz’s] death,” but not mentioning how. Freeman was seen later that day driving Seitz’s pickup truck, and around 2:00 p.m., he got into an accident, rear-ending a semi-trailer at the intersection of Common and Hayes roads, fleeing the scene before Roseville and Warren police arrived.
Before the felony murder charge was added, Freeman was only charged with concealing the death of an individual and of receiving and concealing a body. Upon the addition of the murder charge, Judge Kathleen Tocco revoked Freeman’s $75,000 cash/surety bond and remanded him into the custody of the Macomb County Jail until his trial, with his probable cause conference scheduled for November 30 in Roseville’s 39th District Court.
Investigation is continuing into how the victim and Freeman knew each other or if they knew each other at all.
