Tyler

By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer

A 47-year-old Tyler man was found not guilty Thursday of retaliating against his estranged wife, who claimed he threatened to kill her after she reported him trespassing on her property.

Michael Edward Frater was acquitted by a Smith County jury in 241st District Judge Jack Skeen Jr.’s court after more than eight hours of deliberation Wednesday and Thursday.

The defendant’s estranged wife, Ethel Gibson, claimed that on July 24, Frater threatened to kill her if she didn’t drop the misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass he was arrested for the day before, Assistant Smith County District Attorney Zach Davis told the jurors during opening statements.

On May 7, the newly paroled Frater was caught standing outside Ms. Gibson’s window and she called Tyler police, who warned him away from the property, Davis said.

On July 23, Ms. Gibson found Frater outside her house again and called police. Since he had been warned off her property before, he was arrested for criminal trespass a misdemeanor charge he still has pending. On July 24, he bonded out of jail and called Ms. Gibson, threatening to kill her if the charges against him weren’t dropped, Davis said.

Defense attorney Don Davidson said Frater and Ms. Gibson, who were still legally married, had a marriage that went bad and they drifted apart. He said the couple lived together at times and some of his belongings were at her house.

Davidson said the only evidence Frater committed the offense was the word of Ms. Gibson and it came down to whether the jurors believed her. He said there was evidence Ms. Gibson had motivation to use the allegations to get him out of her life.

Ms. Gibson reported to police that Frater had not lived with her since he was paroled out of prison in December 2006.

In February 2006, he was sentenced to four years in prison for violating his probation. In 2004, he was placed on 10 years probation for felony driving while intoxicated, according to Smith County records.

Assistant District Attorney Joe Murphy also prosecuted the case.