Main: Stephen L. Freeman (Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office). Inset: The truck Freeman was driving with Gabriele Seitz’s body in the bed (WJBK).
A 22-year-old man in Michigan who was arrested with the body of a 64-year-old woman in the bed of the stolen pickup truck he was driving may spend the remainder of his days behind bars for strangling the victim to death with her own shoelace.
Following a two-week trial, a jury in Macomb County on Tuesday found Stephen Lee Freeman guilty of a spate of felonies, including counts of first-degree murder and felony murder, in the 2022 slaying of Gabriele Seitz, authorities announced.
In addition to murder, jurors also convicted Freeman on counts of first-degree home invasion, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, concealing the death of an individual, and receiving or concealing stolen property.
“Today’s verdict delivers justice for the victim and her family. This young man’s actions were brutal, deliberate, and have left lasting scars on our community,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement following the proceedings. “While no conviction can erase the pain and loss suffered, we hope this outcome provides a measure of closure. I am grateful to the jurors for their careful consideration of the evidence. Our office remains committed to pursuing justice and ensuring that those who commit such heinous crimes are held fully accountable.”
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As Law&Crime previously reported, at about 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 26, 2022, Freeman broke into Seitz’s residence on Utica Road through a bathroom window, carrying a body-sized duffel bag. When she returned home from work, he sexually assaulted and strangled her with a shoelace.
“Three to five minutes, Gabriele Seitz had this shoelace around her neck,” Assistant Macomb Prosecutor Darrien Fortier told a jury Tuesday during his closing arguments, per the Macomb Daily. “For three to five minutes she had this shoelace around her neck because Stephen Freeman put it there. Three to five minutes, Gabriele Seitz died. Three to five minutes, Stephen Freeman killed her.”
At about 1 a.m. the following day, prosecutors said Freeman was captured on surveillance footage carrying a heavy duffel bag containing Seitz’s body and loading it into the bed of Seitz’s Ford Ranger, which was parked just outside of her home. While driving Seitz’s vehicle on Oct. 27, Freeman got into a minor crash and fled the scene on foot. Seitz’s body was discovered by authorities about 30 minutes later.
“I opened the tailgate,” Roseville Police Detective Chris Moran testified at Freeman’s arraignment in a courtroom report by the Macomb Daily. “I saw what looked like a comforter in the back … I proceeded to pull back the blanket, and the first thing I observed was a human leg. My immediate reaction, based on my years of training and experience, was this was a deceased person.”
Police say they used a cellphone video to identify the defendant as the driver who attempted to flee before being arrested. His DNA was found on Seitz’s body and throughout her home.
Freeman is currently scheduled to appear in court for his sentencing hearing before Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Julie Gatti on Oct. 22. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. However, due to a recent state Supreme Court decision, defendants who are 19 and 20 at the time of their crime must be eligible for parole at some point during their incarceration.
Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.
