An Oregon mother and her 3-year-old missing since early May are now presumed dead by police — and the child’s father is accused of killing them.
Karissa Fretwell and her 3-year-old son, Billy, were reported missing on May 17 after friends and family were unable to contact the mom.
Her car was found parked in front of her home with the child seat still inside, prompting worry.
On May 24, Billy’s father, 52-year-old Michael John Wolfe, was arrested for the kidnapping and aggravated murder of the mother and child.
A statement from the Salem Police Department read:
Wolfe is being charged with two counts of Aggravated Murder and two counts of Kidnapping. Final charges will be determined by the Office of the District Attorney of Yamhill County.
Police have not located their bodies and will “continue the search for Karissa and William Fretwell in rural Yamhill County.”
However, Yamhill County District Attorney Brad Berry told KPTV that the two are presumed dead based on “the evidence that has been gathered.”
According to The Oregonian, Fretwell and Wolfe had been in a child custody dispute over Billy in recent months. He was ordered to pay $900 a month in child support to the mom.
Megan Harper, a friend of Fretwell who babysat her son, said the mom didn’t realize Wolfe was a married man at first:
“There was never a relationship there. She never knew he was married until after a couple weeks of her being pregnant. Then he offered to pay for an abortion. My first thought when she first went missing was that he’d done something.”
Cell phone signals from Wolfe’s phone pinged off a tower near Fretwell’s home on May 13, the day she is believed to have disappeared, The Oregonian reports.
And signals from Fretwell’s phone showed her device was near Wolfe’s home and place of work in the days after she went missing.
Wolfe will be officially charged on June 7.