LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man faces several charges including open murder after he allegedly strangled his wife and hid her in a metal drum for days before setting her body on fire in Henderson, Nevada, according to an arrest report.
Freddie Wright, 43, was arrested on Monday by the Criminal Apprehension Team on charges of open murder, arson, and destroying evidence, police said.
On Nov. 21 just before 8 p.m., the Henderson Fire Department responded to a report of a bin on fire in the 1700 block of Sunset Road. Fire crews arrived and extinguished the fire inside a 55-gallon drum.
After the fire was out, fire crews believed there was a body inside. Shortly after, Henderson police arrived at the scene and confirmed there was a body inside the drum, the report said.
Inside the drum was the body of a woman who was covered with blankets and wearing only a pink tank top, police said.
During an autopsy, the Clark County Coroner’s officer discovered “significant evidence of asphyxiation by strangulation,” marks on her upper back, three fractured ribs, and “apparent evidence of vaginal trauma,” the report said.
Henderson detectives decided to look into a woman named Janell Bowen after a call on Aug. 1 where her husband, later identified as Wright, reported that Bowen was threatening to commit suicide, the report said.
A record check showed that Wright was a previously convicted sex offender and that he had six children with Bowen.
When detectives arrived at Wright’s listed address, they found a “storage type yard,” nearby with about 25-50 blue 55-gallon metal drums, similar to the one Bowen was found in.
Inside the apartment there were several people who said Wright, who they referred to as “OG”, was staying at the home for about two weeks with his six children and Bowen, police said.
One of the residents told police that on Nov. 18, Wright kicked them out of the apartment so that he could be alone with Bowen because she received a suspicious phone call and he “needed to confront her,” the report said.
When one of the residents tried going back inside, Wright did not let her. The resident looked inside a window and saw Wright on top of Bowen appearing to strangle her while she was lying face down on the ground, according to the report.
At one point she reported hearing him say, “Die b—-,” the report said. When they looked into the window one last time, she said she knew Bowen was dead, the report said.
The other residents then left the apartment. When they returned, Wright was inside but Bowen was no longer there. They also noted that the tan minivan he was driving at the time was parked differently than when they left, the report said.
Wright was arrested on Nov. 27 without incident.
Wright told police that he confronted Bowen about someone she was talking to and possibly had a romantic relationship with. During the confrontation, Bowen admitted to having a relationship with the person and Wright said he “snapped” and started to strangle her with his hands, police said.
He then wrapped a cord around her neck until she became “lifeless,” the report said.
He then wrapped Bowen in blankets, put her onto a wagon, and placed her outside the home, trying to hide her from the children, according to police.
The next morning, he put Bowen’s body inside the van and drove around. He ended up at a park where he took a trashcan and put her inside. He then drove to an abandoned hotel where he dropped off the trashcan, with Bowen inside, police said.
A day later, he returned to the hotel and put the trashcan, with her inside, into the backseat of his car and began to drive around again. He then went to a service road off Sunset Road and took the trashcan out of the car, according to the report.
He drove away from the trashcan, parked the car in a residential area, and returned to the trashcan on foot. He then poured gasoline on the trashcan and lit it on fire, the report said.
As Wright was making his way back to his car, he heard sirens and tossed the gasoline can behind a bus stop before leaving the scene, police said.
For a list of local and state resources for domestic violence and abuse victims, visit this link.