In the quiet Oakbrook subdivision of Davenport, Iowa, a neighborhood better known for its festive Christmas lights than for crime, the morning of October 5, 2016, was shattered by violence. Inside their home on West 59th Street, 58-year-old Kevin Freese, a White male who worked as a chief financial officer, and his 57-year-old wife, Donna, were found shot to death. Police discovered their bodies just before 5 a.m. after responding to reports of a shooting.
Neighbors would later recall hearing arguing at the Freese residence the night before the tragic discovery.
The investigation quickly focused on a member of their own family. Their 20-year-old son, Sean Michael Freese, who lived with them, was taken into custody from the house that same morning. Later that day, the Davenport Police Department announced that Sean Freese had been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents. According to court affidavits, Sean Freese shot both Kevin and Donna Freese with a firearm inside their home with premeditation.
During his trial, jurors heard a recorded jailhouse phone call in which Sean Freese admitted to a friend that he had killed his parents. He stated that he had "snapped" following an argument with them, expressing frustration with their rules and how they treated him. In October 2017, a jury found Sean Freese guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. The following month, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of his parents, Kevin and Donna Freese.
