In the quiet town of Caledonia, Mississippi, the life of 55-year-old Natalie Zan Ryan-Frasier came to a tragic end on December 30, 2021. A senior English instructor at Angelo State University, she was found deceased from a gunshot wound in an apartment on Cedar Street. The subsequent investigation into her death would unravel a history of domestic turmoil and lead to the arrest of her husband.
Natalie, who was a wheelchair user, had traveled from her home in Texas to visit her husband,
Wayne Fraser, who was living and working in Caledonia. In the early morning hours of December 30th, she was fatally shot. It was not until hours later that Fraser contacted anyone, first alerting his boss and then Natalie's brother, initially claiming his wife had taken her own life. This account, however, would shift, with Fraser later contending the shooting was a tragic accident.
Wayne Fraser, a native of Scotland, was taken into custody in connection with his wife's death. He was initially charged with first-degree murder. During the trial, prosecutors painted a picture of Fraser as a man with a history of alcohol abuse who had been abusive towards his wife. The defense acknowledged past issues but maintained that the shooting was an accident and that both he and Natalie were highly intoxicated on the night of her death.
After a weeklong trial, a jury deliberated for over three hours before finding Wayne Fraser not guilty of murder, but convicted him of the lesser charge of culpable negligent manslaughter. He was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Following his conviction, Fraser filed an appeal. In memory of the beloved professor, Angelo State University renamed its English department the Natalie Zan Ryan Department of English and Modern Language.
