Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced today that Fred Lee Frampton Jr., 33, of Glen Burnie, received a life sentence suspended with all but 55 years to be served in prison for the first degree murder of Michael Anthony Temple. Frampton pleaded guilty in July of 2019.
Through Parabon Snapshot DNA Phenotyping Service, an innovative technology which produces a descriptive profile of the source of any human DNA sample, experts were able to match the DNA left behind at the crime scene eight years earlier to Mr. Frampton. This is the first time this type of DNA technology was used in solving an Anne Arundel County crime. The Honorable J. Michael Wachs presided over the case.
“With this sentence, Mr. Frampton will be held fully accountable for taking the life of Mr. Temple and his vicious attack on Donald Gagnon, Margaret Ridgely and Kelly Skarwecki,” said Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. “The Parabon Snapshot DNA Phenotyping Service, coupled with good old-fashioned police work, led to the successful prosecution of this crime. This case illustrates exactly how our our county’s law enforcement team will not give up in seeking justice for violent crime victims.”
On February 2, 2010, the Anne Arundel County Police Department responded to the 500 block of Williamsburg Lane in Odenton for a report of a home invasion robbery and a shooting. Upon arrival, police officers located one of the victims, identified as Michael Anthony Temple, inside the residence suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Mr. Temple was transported to a local area hospital. Donald Gagnon, Margaret Ridgely and Kelly Skarwecki were also in the residence.
Investigation revealed that at approximately 8:50 p.m., two white males entered the residence and one pistol-whipped Mr. Gagnon on the side of the head knocking him to the floor. Suspect 1, later identified as Fred Lee Frampton Jr., pointed a gun at Mr. Gagnon while Suspect 2, later identified as Jonathan Ludwig, duct taped the victim’s hands behind his back, his ankles together and covered his mouth. Mr. Ludwig then took his wallet. The suspects proceeded to the basement where Mr. Temple, Ms. Ridgely and Ms. Skarwecki were located. Mr. Frampton ordered them to the floor and demanded money with a gun pointed at them. Mr. Temple jumped on Mr. Frampton and began to fight with him. Ms. Ridgely fought with Mr. Ludwig and she was struck on her left eyebrow causing a laceration. Mr. Ludwig than began to strangle Ms. Ridgely by grabbing her throat. She fought back and fell to the floor after becoming dizzy. Mr. Temple continued to fight with Mr. Frampton, exiting the bedroom and ending up in the laundry room. Ms. Ridgely told police that a few seconds later she heard one gunshot followed by another.
Police recovered multiple shell casings, a four-inch blade folding knife and a partial projectile on the floor. Ms. Ridgely told police that she believed the suspects had taken somewhere between $2,100 and $2,500 from the residence. Mr. Temple told police he believed he had stabbed the man who shot him, and crime scene technicians recovered blood stains from the knife for testing. Mr. Temple was ultimately paralyzed from his injuries.
On June 18, 2015, Mr. Temple died due to complications of the gunshot wounds he suffered five years earlier. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland ruled his death was a homicide.
In December, 2015, Parabon NanoLabs provided police with a “composite sketch” they had developed, detailing that the suspect DNA belonged to a fair skinned male with green/hazel eyes, brown/blonde hair from a northern/western European decent.
On July 16, 2018, Parabon NanoLabs provided the Anne Arundel County Police Department Homicide Unit with a genealogy report they generated from individuals participating in their data base. The amount of shared DNA between the suspect and voluntary participants in the data base enabled the company to generate family ancestry lines to assist in the investigation.
Just a few months later, Parabon called police to tell them they had a name for their suspect: Fred Lee Frampton, Jr.
Armed with this information, on October 10, 2018, detectives followed Mr. Frampton to a 7-Eleven in the 1000 block of Route 3 in Crofton and watched him discard his coffee cup on the ground. Soon after, they saw him discard his cigarette in the parking lot of a nearby Roy Rogers. Police recovered both items for testing in the county’s forensic laboratory.
Sarah Chenoweth, a Senior Forensic Chemist, extracted DNA from the cup and cigarette and found they shared the same source of DNA that was found on the blade of the knife recovered from the crime scene. That testing confirmed that police had the right suspect.
On November 1, 2018, Mr. Frampton was arrested. During a search of his home, a handgun later identified as the one used in the crime scene was recovered. Mr. Frampton was questioned by detectives and confessed to the murder and home invasion. Suspect Jonathan Ludwig died from an overdose in March 2018 shortly before police would also zero in on him through his DNA and corroborating evidence linking him to the crime.
Assistant State’s Attorney Samantha Mildenberg and James Tuomey prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of Anne Arundel County.
