Ronald Savoy Fleming, 31, of Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, is accused of murdering and burying his 73‑year‑old grandmother, Theadra Fleming, in the backyard of their shared home in 2024. He is charged with one count of open murder and is being held without bond.
How the crime was discovered
On May 17, 2024, Washtenaw County deputies responded to a welfare check after Theadra’s family said they had not heard from her for several days. At the home, officers found Ronald inside but no sign of his grandmother. Family members later pointed to disturbed earth in the backyard, where a shovel was visible near a mound of dirt. A deputy lifted the shovel and uncovered Theadra’s body wrapped in a quilt; she had been strangled to death. A medical examiner ruled the cause of death as strangulation.
Alleged motive and conflicting claims
At a March 31 preliminary hearing, a sheriff’s detective testified that Ronald told investigators his grandmother had pressured him to get a job and attend school, fueling escalating tension. He claimed she came at him with a knife and lunged toward him, so he grabbed her throat with both hands and strangled her until he felt her neck snap. He later said he buried her in self‑defense, but investigators do not accept that version as consistent with the evidence.
Victim’s background and upcoming court date
Theadra Fleming, a retired registered nurse and avid quilter, was described in a memorial GoFundMe as a devoted volunteer who taught quilting at nursing homes, schools, and community centers. Ronald Fleming spent about a year at a state forensic psychiatric center after initially being found incompetent to stand trial, but he was later deemed fit to assist in his own defense. He is scheduled to return to court on May 26, 2026.
