An Oklahoma man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after admitting to fatally shooting his wife in the face with a shotgun, then attempting to stage the scene as a suicide.
Life Sentence Handed Down
On Wednesday, Pottawatomie County District Judge John G. Canavan sentenced Bradley Frye, 32, to life in a state correctional facility for the 2024 killing of his wife, Sara Frye. Court records show Frye had pleaded guilty in May to one count of second-degree murder.
Crime Scene Didn’t Match Suicide Claim
The murder happened on Sept. 13, 2024, at the couple’s home on East Beech Street in Tecumseh, a suburb of Oklahoma City. That night, Frye rushed to a neighbor’s house claiming his wife had shot herself.
But when officers arrived, they quickly suspected otherwise. “The scene looked like everything other than suicide,” Tecumseh Police Chief JR Kidney told KFOR.
Inside the home, investigators found evidence of a violent struggle:
A kitchen table split in half
Other broken household items scattered around
The shotgun positioned awkwardly behind Sara’s body
Petroleum jelly packed into her facial wound
Changing Stories and Red Flags
Initially, Frye told police he had walked into a room just as Sara pulled the trigger. But as investigators prepared to test his hands for gunshot residue, he changed his story, claiming the couple had fought over the shotgun and it discharged accidentally.
Police also uncovered Sara’s journal, where she wrote about plans to leave her husband because he was “treating her poorly.” Her father confirmed to detectives that the marriage had become so strained that the couple’s children were removed from the home for safety.
Witness Accounts
Neighbors reported hearing the couple arguing just minutes before the gunshot. Police also said Frye had been drinking that evening.
Sara’s father revealed he had been staying with the couple that day to keep the peace but stepped out briefly to run errands. When he returned, law enforcement was already at the scene.
Community Reaction
Adding to the disturbing details, investigators noted a sign outside the Frye home showing a gun with the warning: “WARNING Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.”
Despite Frye’s pleas outside the house during medical efforts to save Sara — shouting, “It’s my wife! She’s laying in there, man!” — detectives determined his actions were deliberate.
Closing the Case
Bradley Frye is now serving a life sentence for Sara’s murder. The conviction marks the end of a case that exposed deep marital troubles, violence, and failed attempts to disguise a homicide as a suicide.
