Scottish expat who shot dead US wife is jailed for 20 years

Scottish expat who shot dead wheelchair-bound US wife hours after they enjoyed a romantic meal together jailed for 20 years

• Wayne Fraser has been jailed 20 years after shooting his wife Natalie Fraser dead
• He had been charged with murder but was instead convicted of manslaughter 

A Scots expat has been jailed for 20 years in the US for killing his wheelchair-bound wife hours after they enjoyed a romantic meal together.

Wayne Fraser, 47, moved from Aberdeenshire to America after forging a relationship with university professor Natalie Ryan Fraser but has been convicted of manslaughter after shooting her dead.

The body of the 55-year-old was found in an apartment in Caledonia, Mississippi, in December 2021, the day after she posted on social media from a restaurant saying ‘dinner with my love’.

Sheriff’s deputies made the discovery after carrying out a welfare check the following day after one of her brothers called 911. Fraser was arrested at the scene and a 9mm handgun was recovered.

He had been charged with first- degree murder but was instead convicted of manslaughter by a jury at Lowndes County Court House in Columbus.

Wayne Fraser, 47, moved from Aberdeenshire to America after forging a relationship with university professor Natalie Ryan Fraser but has been convicted of manslaughter after shooting her dead. The couple are pictured together

Mrs Fraser’s body was found in an apartment in Caledonia, Mississippi, (pictured) in December 2021, the day after she posted on social media from a restaurant saying ‘dinner with my love’

Fraser had been charged with first- degree murder but was instead convicted of manslaughter by a jury at Lowndes County Court House in Columbus

One of the victim’s brothers, George Brinton Ryan, told the court that Fraser called him and claimed she had shot herself. 

READ MORE: Scottish man goes on trial in the US accused of shooting dead his wheelchair-bound wife hours after enjoying a romantic dinner together

Mr Ryan then contacted the emergency services.

Evidence was also heard from a 911 operator and the state medical examiner’s office.

Members of Mrs Fraser’s grieving family, who have described her death as a ‘senseless tragedy’, had been in court to hear district attorney Scott Colum’s case against her husband. 

Television footage showed Fraser, who has a grey beard and was smartly dressed in a white shirt, listening intently to the proceedings. He had denied murder.

Mrs Fraser’s wheelchair was also brought into the courtroom during the second day of the trial. 

She was left paralysed at the age of 17 after crashing her car while drunk but went on to have a career as an academic and was an English professor at the Angelo State University in Texas.

The couple met in 2010 and Fraser moved from his home in Mintlaw so they could be together. They married in 2014 and settled in Texas.

Fraser later secured a job as a foreman for an industrial painting firm in Mississippi.

The indictment against Wayne Fraser (pictured) stated that he ‘did feloniously, wilfully and unlawfully with deliberate design to effect the death of Natalie Fraser… without the authority of law and not in necessary self-defence’

Natalie Ryan-Fraser, 55, a professor of English at Angelo State University in Texas, pictured with her Scottish-born husband Wayne Fraser. After her death, the university renamed its English and Modern Languages department in her honour

On the day of her death his wife was visiting him at the apartment he stayed in while he was working away from home. 

Fraser had been held in custody at the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center since his arrest as a £388,000 bond would have been needed to secure his release.

The indictment against him stated that he ‘did feloniously, wilfully and unlawfully with deliberate design to effect the death of Natalie Fraser… without the authority of law and not in necessary self-defence’.

Fraser did not face the death penalty as he was not charged with capital murder, which is reserved for the most serious cases such as the murder of a police officer. 

Jurors took three hours to convict the Scot of the lesser charge of manslaughter on Friday.

The presiding judge James T Kitchens Jnr imposed the prison sentence.

After her death, the university where Mrs Fraser worked renamed its English and Modern Languages department in her honour.

Her brother Kristopher Ryan also paid tribute to her, saying: ‘This just doesn’t seem real. She will be dearly missed. This is just so difficult to swallow.

‘She was definitely one of a kind. Just such a senseless tragedy.’

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