Cole Frazier (Photo source: Kevin Clark)
By Janelle MacDonald - bio | email
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email
BARDSTOWN, KY (WAVE) - A 21-month-old baby is dead and police believe it was at the hands of his father. Nelson County deputies say they are not ruling out anything at this point, but they think 28-year-old Tim Frazier was the shooter; his toddler son, Cole, the victim, and it all was the culmination of a heated custody battle.
The baby's grandfather, Kevin Clark, said he should have never had the child in the first place. "If he wants to kill himself, I don't care what he does, but not my baby."
Clark's family can scarcely believe it, but investigators said it was a murder-suicide that ended Cole Frazier's life. They said his father picked up Cole from Tim's mother's house Tuesday morning, saying the two were going to take a nap. Sources told WAVE 3 Frazier's mother became concerned Tuesday afternoon and went to check on the pair, finding them shot to death. Investigators believe they'd been dead for several hours. Deputies believe those are the facts, but the haunting question remains unanswered.
"We'll never be able to know exactly what was in his mind. There's nobody there to speak about what happened. The victim can't speak for himself and the perpetrator can't speak," said Detective Jason Allison.
During a check of court documents, WAVE 3 found that Frazier had a pretty contentious custody battle going on, which at times involved police. Frazier was supposed to be at a court hearing the day after he and Cole were shot over an Emergency Protection Order he filed May 13 on behalf of his son. In his petition, Frazier said the boy's mother was a danger. He said, while driving she, "Threatened to wreck all three of us while son in car." He continued, "I suppose that she is on illegal pain pills as of this moment. I want custody of son. Afraid for his safety."
Based on that, a judge ordered Candice Dempsey to stay away from her son, a decision Kevin Clark questioned.
"They took him in an environment where he wasn't safe," Clark said. "My daughter ain't never done drugs. He was just making it all up. He wanted to get an EPO out on her and get the kid to punish her and he did it and now he's punished us for the rest of our lives."
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dempsey and Frazier were supposed to be back in court, where Clark said his daughter hoped to get Cole back.
"We've been worrying for two weeks since he's had the baby," said Clark. "Every night, my wife, my daughter, both crying and saying, 'one more day, one more day we get to see our baby. One more day and we get to see our baby,' and then we get the call last night saying that this guy kills our precious baby."
Tim Frazier also had upcoming court appearances for two arrests earlier this year. On January 31, he was pulled over for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Twelve days later, police arrested him on drunk driving charges.
A former school teacher and neighbor of Tim Frazier painted a different picture. Sister Mary Driscoll said, "He was always courteous, happy Tim." She remembered Cole as, "an adorable little boy. (Tim) was a great dad."
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