Arrest made in killing of a Charlotte mother found unresponsive in a car
Police arrested a suspect Friday in the killing of 31-year-old Frezja Matisse Baker, who was found unresponsive Thursday in a car in west Charlotte.
Officers detained 38-year-old Lorenza Thomas Inman Jr. in Maxton, a town in Robeson and Scotland counties 100 miles southeast of Charlotte.
Inman was charged with murder, assault on a female and misdemeanor domestic violence, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department news release.
Baker was found unresponsive at 9:35 a.m. in the 2300 block of Sanders Avenue, according to CMPD. Sanders Avenue is off Brookshire Freeway.
Baker and Inman were in “a dating relationship,” according to an arrest warrant reviewed by The Charlotte Observer.
Police aren’t saying how they believe Baker was killed.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call CMPD Detective Henry Buhr at 704-432-8477 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers tips line at 704-334-1600.
Previous attempted first-degree murder conviction
Inman was free on probation after a Mecklenburg County jury convicted him of attempted first-degree murder and other charges in 2019, court records show.
The case involved a 2017 daylight attack where Inman followed, confronted and shot a man in the chest at close range at a shopping center on West Sugar Creek Road, according to a 2019 news release by the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.
“As the victim fell to the ground, Inman stood over him and fired several more rounds at the victim,” according to the news release.
Attempt to intimidate witness
Just before trial, Inman also contacted the man he attacked “and pressured the victim to recant,” according to the D.A.’s office statement.
A jury in the case also found Inman guilty of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the D.A.’s office.
Judge Jesse Caldwell sentenced Inman to a minimum 13 years and a maximum 17 1/2 years in prison.
Inman was in the Mecklenburg County jail without bond Saturday, jail records showed. He is scheduled to appear in court at 10 a.m. Monday.
This story was originally published December 13, 2025 at 7:50 AM.