A grand jury has officially indicted former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason with aggravated murder in the stabbing death of his ex-wife Aisha Fraser, County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley announced Thursday.
The 51-year-old Mason is also charged with murder, felonious assault, violating a protection order, and grand theft. Prosecutors also revealed they have decided not to pursue the death penalty, meaning the harshest sentence Mason faces is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Mason, who was removed from his judge seat in 2014 and later served nine months in jail for brutally assaulting Fraser, is accused of stabbing Fraser multiple times back on Nov. 17 before leaving her body in the driveway of her Shaker Heights home. He also allegedly slammed into a police cruiser while attempting to flee the scene, leaving an officer injured.
The loss of Fraser, a teacher in the Shaker Heights school district, has sent shock waves through the community.
“Aisha Fraser was viciously and cruelly taken from her children by Lance Mason’s cowardly and selfish act,” Prosecutor O’Malley said in a statement. “He stole a loving mother from her children and took an exceptional teacher, neighbor, and role model from the Shaker Heights community. He will be held accountable for his barbaric act."
Up until the death of his ex-wife, Mason was employed by the city of Cleveland as director of minority business administration. He was fired from that position the night of the incident, but while Mayor Frank G. Jackson sent his condolences to Fraser's family, he refused to apologize for hiring Mason in spite of his violent past.
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Mason is due to be arraigned in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.