Boyfriend of Charlotte mother found in car said gun went off, police report says
The man arrested in the homicide of a 31-year-old Charlotte mother was accused of shooting her in the head and leaving her in her car parked behind a church parking lot, a police affidavit said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested Lorenza Thomas Inman Jr., 38, on Dec. 12, in Maxton, a town 100 miles southeast of Charlotte.
Inman was charged with murder, assault on a female, and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in the death of Frezja Baker. He is being held at Mecklenburg County jail without bond.
The police affidavit filed in court offers new information about what detectives believe happened.
Baker last seen with Inman
On Dec. 4, when CMPD said Baker was last seen alive, she dropped her son off with family and spoke with them on the phone.
During their call with Baker, the family said they could hear her boyfriend, Inman, in the background, the affidavit said. They didn’t see or hear from her again after that, and reported her missing on Dec. 6.
One of Baker’s close friends said in a recent interview with The Charlotte Observer that she also expected to see Baker for dinner on the day she was last seen, but Baker didn’t show up. The friend grew concerned when another friend said she hadn’t heard from Baker either.
Detectives with CMPD’s missing person unit began investigating, requesting her phone and financial records. They also reviewed video footage from a Mobil gas station on LaSalle Street.
In the footage, Baker arrived with Inman in her Honda Accord. She walked into the gas station first, with him following behind her, records said, and he put his right hand on the back of her head and neck. He pushed her a few feet into a display “hard enough to twist her head down and to the right,” the affidavit said.
She walked toward the coolers in the back of the store, and Inman shoved her with his right hand on the back of her neck, which caused her to stumble forward, the affidavit said.
“Lorenza then towers over the victim as her back is against the cooler doors and she is facing him,” the affidavit said. “The victim grabs items from the cooler and starts to walk toward the register. Lorenza throws a hand sized item hard with his right hand, striking the victim in the back.”
Both exited the store and drove away after Baker got in the passenger seat and Inman in the driver’s seat.
Crime Stoppers tip helped police
A Crime Stoppers tipster said on Dec. 9 that Baker was dead, shot in the head and in the passenger side of her vehicle, the affidavit said. Police said they found her in that car on Dec. 11, behind a church on Sanders Avenue.
She died “from apparent head trauma,” the affidavit said. She was wearing the same clothes from the gas station. A jacket covered her chest, the affidavit said.
A neighbor near the church provided video clips from two days to police. One video, on Dec. 4 showed no vehicle parked at the church. The next day, the vehicle was parked, the affidavit said.
Detectives were reportedly contacted by Inman’s probation officer, who said a witness contacted them on Dec. 9 with information about what happened to Baker.
“The Probation Officer advised that she was informed that ‘Ya’ll looking for Frezja Baker and that girl is dead, I don’t know where her body is at, but her car is parked somewhere near my house. Lorenza told me that they got into an argument, the gun went off, and she was shot in the head,’” the affidavit said.
Detectives spoke with the witness who contacted the probation office. The witness told detectives that on Dec. 7, Inman told the witness that Inman killed someone, the affidavit said.
Inman told the witness he was trying to put the gun on the back seat of the vehicle when Baker grabbed it, causing it to go off, the affidavit said. Inman left Baker in her car and a jacket was put on her head.
“This information is consistent with the scene and would only be known by someone with intimate knowledge of the scene,” the affidavit said.
