UPDATE: 10:00 P.M. – The family of Kingston Frazier has now received justice for all three men responsible for the kidnapping and murder of the child.
This has been a hectic two years for many sides and 12 News Alex Love was at the Courthouse in Madison County where the jury reached a verdict for Dwan Wakefield.
It was right after 2:00 P.M. when the Frazier family finally heard the statement they’ve been waiting for almost two and a half years. The final suspect in the kidnapping and murder of their six-year-old child Kingston Frazier was found guilty.
After four days of testimony revisiting surveillance footage, and cell phone tracking, the verdict sent Dwan Wakefield to fall in his chair holding his head down as the jury found him guilty of all three charges.
“Thank you, it’s a very emotional time for her, and her family,” Kristy Archie said referring to Kingston’s mom Ebony. “And we just ask you to keep our family in your prayers and ebony at the top of your list and always remember Kingston.”
Wakefield was charged with “accessory after the fact of automobile theft, kidnapping, and murder.” Prosecutors showed he witnessed Byron McBride steal Kingston’s mother’s car outside a Kroger in Jackson when they were hanging out together.
“Once he realized there was a child in the back he contacted Dwan Wakefield and said there was a child in the back and that child was six years old,” Madison County District Attorney John Bramlett said. “Dwan Wakefield went and picked him up after he murdered the child and McBride told him. He aided him in escaping arrest.”
In closing statements, Wakefield’s attorney Tom Fortner argued Wakefield urged McBride not to take the car and wasn’t aware of Kingston’s death until after they drove off from Madison County where the car was abandoned.
“He wasn’t an accomplice to this motor vehicle theft,” Fortner told the jury. “He didn’t know what McBride was going to do and ultimately that’s the problem in the state’s case.”
Wakefield’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16th at 9:00 A.M. Because he did not take a plea deal he could face up to 45 years behind bars.
Following the trial Wakefield’s family would not speak to us on camera nor would his attorney other than saying he is disappointed with this outcome.
Other evidence brought forth by prosecutors was cell phone tracking showing where each defendant was located after Kingston’s mother’s Toyota Camry went missing.
CANTON, Miss. (WJTV) — A jury finds Dwan Wakefield guilty on all charges.
Wakefield is the final suspect in the murder of 6-year-old Kingston Frazier. He was 17 at the time of Frazier’s death.
He is charged with accessory after the fact of kidnapping, murder, and auto theft.
Wakefield is the only one of three suspects who would not take a plea deal.
