Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Former Ohio judge gets off easy for beating wife, now charged with killing her

Episode Date: December 11, 2018

Nancy Grace wants to know why a former Ohio judge who served just 9 months behind bars for beating his then-wife in 2014 only to allegedly stab her to death last month. Lance Mason, 51, allegedly crashing his SUV into a police cruiser after killing Aisha Fraser, an elementary school teacher. Court documents stated that Mason was fleeing the murder scene when the crash occurred. Nancy's experts in this episode are forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan -- author of "Blood Beneath My Feet," North Carolina family and divorce lawyer Kathleen Murphy, psychologist and lawyer Dr. Brian Russell -- host of Investigation Discovery's "Fatal Vows" series, and Crime Stories reporter Larry Meagher. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. No, it's not Santa. It's Nancy Grace. Are you trying to find the perfect gift for a parent or an expecting parent? Please do not give them another onesie. Don't do it. And not another plastic toy that's going to end up in the trash bin or the garage or sent

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have told me. Give that as a gift, not another onesie, please. Find out how to protect your child out and about at the mall, at the store, at the grocery store, in parking lots, in parking decks, at your home, in your neighborhood. Find out about protection regarding babysitters, nannies, daycare, even protection online. It's the very best gift you can give any parent. Go to crimestopshere.com and join the Justice Nation. Crimestopshere.com. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I need the police immediately. My brother is attacking his ex-wife. This was the information police had. The caller is the sister of former Cuyahoga County judge and state senator Lance Mason. She was inside with Mason's two young daughters talking to police when she reported what was going on in the backyard.

He stabbed her and he said she's dead. You are hearing our friend Brandon Simmons at WKYC TV, in the very latest, a judge and a politician busted for stabbing his estranged wife dead two years after the government let him loose. Let him loose after he slammed her head into the dashboard of a car so badly it broke her orbital bone in her face she had to have plastic surgery he beat her repeatedly in the car slamming her head over and over and over into the dashboard opening the car door kicking her out of the car into the street and driving away, leaving her there with their two little girls in the back seat. Then this judge goes in front of a disciplinary committee. He gets out in just a few months behind bars on aggravated assault.

He walks free. His wife lives in fear, even though she's gotten a restraining order. She begs, begs that he does not have overnight custody, which would require her going and picking the children up. She begs. Does anybody listen? No. So when she comes to pick the children up, the two little girls up, what happens?

The judge meets her in the driveway and stabs her dead. Her children inside screaming as they hear their mommy screaming in the driveway. Yeah, that's what happened. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. You know, the truth doesn't always taste very good going down, does it? Because this sure leaves a bad taste in my mouth. A judge stabs his wife dead.

It's Lance Mason. And then after he stabs his wife dead, he gets in a car and tries to flee the scene and rams into a police car. Listen. Found dead in the backyard was 45-year-old Aisha Frazier, a mother and school teacher at Shaker Heights Woodbury Elementary School. As police arrived on scene, Mason attempted to leave in an SUV but crashed into a police cruiser sending an officer to the hospital with serious injuries. Mason then ran from the scene of that crash back inside to where his sister and children were still on the phone with police. I've got a three-man team going in, entering now. Police then entered the home where they found Mason and placed him under arrest. What an idiot.

The mayor had vouched for him after he broke all the bones in his wife's face in front of the children. The mayor, representative, all these politicians. In fact, they even gave him a government job after he beat her so badly in the car. Gave him like a $40-something thousand dollar job because he had to step down from being a judge, of course. But that's all right. The fat cats took care of him and gave him a job, let him walk free. They all wrote letters and vows for what a great guy he is. Well, she's dead.

And these children are being raised without a mother. With me, forensics expert Joe Scott Morgan, North Carolina family lawyer Kathleen Murphy, host of Investigation Discoveries hit series Fatal Vows, Dr. Brian Russell, and joining me right now, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Larry Mayher. Start at the beginning, Larry. What happened? In 2014, Lance Mason attacked his wife viciously, as you described, and pled guilty to aggravated assault. He was sentenced to two years in prison. He mounted a successful campaign for early release and ended up serving nine months. After he got out—

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You got me drinking from a fire hydrant. Too much, too fast. Hold on. He got an early release. You said he mounted a campaign. Let's talk about the campaign. What campaign was mounted?

Who... Oh, I feel like I'm going to vomit right now. Hold on, everybody. Joe Scott, you're the forensics expert. You can explain to me why I feel so I'm going to vomit right now. Hold on, everybody. Joe Scott, you're the forensics expert. You can explain to me why I feel so nauseous. I think it may have something to do with a picture I'm looking at right now. Ohio Judge Lance Mason sitting on the bench, smiling at the camera. Yeah, that's it.

That's why I feel sick. This woman was a beloved sixth grade teacher. A beloved sixth grade teacher. Oh, did I mention the 2,300 live rounds of ammunition he had? 500 shotgun slugs, four canisters of smoke, grenades, a bulletproof vest, and a Jaguar knife. Okay, that's beside the point. Just wanted to let you know that. But what about this campaign you're saying he mounted to get out of jail early?

Okay, first let me just point out that the weapons were seized at the second arrest after the murder, not at the time of the aggravated assault. I don't care. This freak that had already beaten his wife practically dead and kicked her out of the car on the street in front of his children, she had to have plastic surgery to repair the bones in her face, and he still gets visitation with the children? She still has to see him?

Okay, I don't care. Somebody with that criminal history does not need weapons at his home. That's a felony. Felons aren't supposed to have weapons. But again, I want to get back to the campaign he mounted to get out of jail. Who came before a judge or committee and told them he's such a great guy because they need to go to jail with him? He was represented by counsel at those hearings, but he had a number of letters of support from people that included a member of Congress from Ohio. Straight out to Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer.

I know you see this scenario over and over again where the woman is typically the woman begging not to have contact with the husband. But then the court allows it under the guise of custody and visitation. But what I'm focused on right now is who stepped up to bat for this wife beater and said he's such a great guy. So far, I've found the following, Kathleen. Representative Fudge. I think we all know her. Isn't it Martha Fudge? And she was being rumored as a potential replacement for Nancy Pelosi.

So Representative Fudge writes a letter on behalf of Lance Mason. And this is after his beating, his brutal beating of his wife. She's not the only one. The Cleveland mayor not only wrote for him and represented he should get out of jail, but then gave him a government job raking in $45,000 a year. Fifteen other candidates had applied for that job, but the city insisted Lance Mason was the most qualified, the wife beater. So you've got Fudge, you've got the mayor, you've got his lawyer. Oh, oh, oh, got his lawyer.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. And there was another county come and please judge, Holly Gallagher, and an attorney, Joyce Barrett, both saying that he should be let out of jail. Wow, all women. I'm having a hard time taking it all in. All these people saying, even though he just beat her nearly dead, she had to have surgery to fix the bones in her face, that he should get out.

And not only get out early, but get a government job. Me, the taxpayers, we paid his salary. Now he kills her. Help me, Kathleen. It is a good old boy network. It is who you know in the victim of domestic violence will come into court and she does not present well because she's been traumatized and the dude that's coming in that beat the crap out of her is presenting well. The judge knows everybody that is coming to his defense, and it is what happens. It happens in Raleigh. It happens in Lumberton. It happens all over the country. Disgusting.

It happens everywhere. In fact, as you said, they all know him. They all know him. All the judges know him. The good old boy network. And not just boys. That's just the terminology because there are women in here. Brian Russell, what can you tell me about this Fudge person, this Representative Fudge? Well, Representative Fudge is one of the names that had been tossed around as a potential speaker of the House if Nancy Pelosi didn't get to return to that role. And I think anybody who wants to know about Representative Fudge, this case, and the fact that she actually endorsed this guy, Mason, after his first incident of violence toward the wife uh tells you all you need to know you know what it reminds me of Dr. Brian Russell do you remember the name Willie Horton remember that name yeah I do that is I'm pretty sure when Michael Dukakis ran for president it it came out that he had granted him parole. I'm going to have to research and make sure I'm right.

I think he gave him a furlough. He gave him a furlough. That's right. And he gets out and commits a murder. And it haunted Dukakis from then on. I mean, I can even still remember the name. You know who else, though, endorsed Mason? The prosecutor.

The prosecutor, Nancy, Tim McGinty, Cuyahoga County prosecutor, when Mason was sentenced, said, I'm confident he will leave prison rehabilitated and will again be an asset to our community. Now, I'm a psychologist, and I know what kind of rehabilitation goes on. But that's not asking for early release. That's at the time of the original sentencing, right? That's right. But let me just explain to everybody, everybody especially who's all excited about criminal justice reform because we're going to rehabilitate people and then let them out early.

Let me explain something to you. When you sit a felon down and have him sit in a circle and talk about his feelings and draw pictures of his feelings with a psychology intern once a week for a couple of years. Let me tell you what that does to make you safer when he gets out and back on the streets with you. Not a damn thing. Was the charge that it was a political favor way offline?

There was no political favor. You've been around politics a long time. You knew you were going to hear that. Well of course. I mean there are people where everybody knows the conspiracy. Everybody knows what the backroom deal was. And they reject the obvious. The obvious is there was an opening and man applied for it. He won the process. He got higher. You know, I did not give him a job. Of course, I'm there, so I sign off on everyone who gets a job that I do. But he went, he went through a process. This was no political favor uh associated with lance mason i don't know him personally right okay you are just hearing the cleveland mayor defending himself for hiring convicted felon judge lance mason he gives him a000 a year job. He gets out of jail early for beating his wife so badly she had to have reconstructive surgery on her face. Then when he gets out early, he stabs her

dead in the driveway with her two, their two little girls hearing mommy screaming until she bled out in front of the house. Straight out to Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Joseph Scott Morgan, explain to me what breaking the orbital bone means and why she had to have reconstructive surgery on her face. Yeah. Hey, if all of our friends in the audience will simply place their index fingers directly below their eyes and you'll feel that kind of curved bone that is beneath your eye, that's actually the suborbital bone there. And it gives form to our face. And it's a very, very thick, rigid piece of bone. It's a new,

what they refer to as an irregular bone. And the force that it takes to fracture this bone is amazing. He, at one point in time, had apparently slammed her face in this first incident into the dashboard of the car and essentially just shattered this bone. Her face would be misshapen, that sort of thing. That's one of the reasons they had to go in and do facial reconstruction on her. I'm just imagining the little girls in the back seat. You know, he punched her 20 times, holding her by the back of the head and slamming her face into the dashboard over and over and over before kicking her out. To Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer, the girls are in the back

seat. They're little and they see this. Then they see daddy push her out of the car into the street and drive off. This is before he stabbed her dead. And then they have to visit with him unsupervised. And then they have to deal with the trauma of seeing their mother beaten. And then they have to deal now with the trauma of their mother is dead. And they have nobody to protect them. To Dr. Brian Russell joining us, psychologist, lawyer, host of Discovery ID's Fatal Vows series. Dr. Brian Russell, you're the shrink. I know Kathleen sees it in her practice all the time dealing with family domestic custody issues.

I saw it in court for, you know, over a decade when it became a crime. But explain to me what this does to the children. I'm so glad that you asked this question, Nancy. This is a point that I cannot make often enough on Fatal Vows. If you are physically abusing your spouse in front of your kids, then you are a child abuser. And I don't care if you've ever physically struck the children or not, because abuse of one of their parents in front of them is abuse of the kids. And one other point just real quickly that I'd like to make is so many times we see cases in which a spouse will be abused physically, and then the abuser will say, oh, I'm so sorry, I'm going to change.

Here's some flowers. And they'll go back and they'll go back and they'll go back. And then finally they get killed and no blame on the victim. But we always say, please, please, please don't do that. Please don't believe the, oh, I'm going to change. Get the hell out of there and get your kids and yourself to safety the first time he beats you up. Well, in this case, Nancy, she did it. She did all the right things. She got out of there. She got a restraining order. She filed for divorce. We let her down as a society. Of course, it's his fault. It's Mr. Mason, formerly Judge Mason's fault. But we as a society also let her down by not keeping his ass off the street like we should have for a good long time. He shouldn't have been available to do this. You know what? Van Aken Boulevard.

Yeah. And like Avalon. She just threw me out the car on Saturn View 2008. I'm afraid he's going to hurt my daughters. But she was scared of him. Oh, yes. Deathly afraid of him. Deathly afraid.

He waited for her. And when she pulled in to drop the kids off as agreed, as she was taking the children out of the car, he attacked her. These two children are left with no mother. Hi, Nancy Grace here. Have you ever Googled yourself, your neighbors, somebody at work, a crush? 57% of Americans admit to keeping an eye on their own online reputation.

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for, your children, consider using Truthfinder. What you find may astound you. Go to truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy right away to start searching. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy right away to start searching. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Find the truth. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. A judge and a politician busted for stabbing his estranged wife dead two years after the government let him loose. Let him loose after he slammed her head into the dashboard of a car so badly it broke her orbital bone in her face. She had to have plastic surgery. He beat her repeatedly in the car, slamming her head over and over and over into the dashboard, opening the car door, kicking her out of the car into the street and driving away leaving her there with their two little girls in the back

seat listen 911 check your police emergency yes uh my husband just beat me and threw me out the car he has my two daughters in the car. Where you at? Van Aken Boulevard. Yeah. And like Avalon. She just threw me out the car on Saturday View 2008. I'm afraid he's going to hurt my daughters. Is he with you now or did he drive off? No, he drove off.

Which way on Van Aken? He went going down towards the police station. He probably hit Chagrin. Okay. Yeah, somebody else called about that. Where are you calling from? What's your phone number? Where would you call your police?

They're taking me to South Point now. Who's taking you to South Point? Some nice people in the car stopped i jumped in you in the car now in another person's car please call my kids are you injured yes i need some air. Hello? You were just hearing the first 911 call where the mom, the beloved sixth grade teacher, Aisha Frazier, had been beaten so badly she had to have her face reconstructed.

And all she keeps saying is, have you found my kids? Have you found my kids? Have you found my kids? Have you found the car? They never answer her. Dr. Brian Russell, what about her two little girls? I can't believe they let him back near the kids. I mean, if he had punched the kids in the face, we probably wouldn't have. But somehow we think that that's less damaging to the kids to punch their mom in the face in front of them when actually the wounds of that in some ways may actually be more longer lasting you would think they care Brian but they don't I'm on the front line every day around here if he had punched the kids in the face he wouldn't have gotten back with visitation but punch somehow punching the kids in the face, he wouldn't have gotten back with visitation. But somehow punching the mom in the face, they might. And it always amazes me that somehow

people think, well, the scars of that, that there aren't any scars from that. Yes, there damn well are. I know. I know. Yes, there are. Lisa, Farmer Cole, and Aisha were close, shared all of their life's milestones together. And her marriage to Lance Mason was always peculiar. I'm sure she would shelter us from so that we wouldn't hurt

and so that we wouldn't intercede because she wanted to protect her relationship and protect our relationships as friends. Until 2014 when Mason was arrested for publicly beating Aisha so bad she was hospitalized. An eye-opener for friends. That was something that we all were in shock about. We didn't know their relationship had that. Her mother's a cat person.

Shante Thomas worked with Aisha here at Woodbury Elementary for 16 years. Aisha had such amazing energy with the classroom. Both she and Cole watched Aisha evolve after her divorce from Mason, a revival so to speak. I mean she was moving forward and making a lot of steps and we were so proud of her, so proud to see her fight back and get her life back. But they believe her joy brought Mason pain. He didn't want her to be happy. He wanted to stop that. So that got in the way of co-parenting. They say the justice system failed Aisha when Mason was released from his two-year prison sentence

after just serving nine months. People backed the wrong horse, obviously. They didn't know him and the monster that he is. Aisha needed help, and Aisha was asking for help, and the persons and authorities and judicial system that could have helped her did not. You are hearing friends of Aisha Frazier, who was once married to the judge, the judge Lance Mason. The irony of this is that she had done everything right. To Larry Mayher, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, where does the case stand now? Mason is in jail right now awaiting trial on a six-count indictment that includes aggravated murder. His bail has been set at $5 million. He is currently

locked up in the same jail that he used to run as the judge of Cuyahoga County. To Kathleen Murphy, weigh in, Kathleen. I can only tell you that this kind of action is continuing every day in your local court systems, and people need to pay attention to who they're voting into office to be our judges in family court, they're not doing the best job for victims of domestic violence. They're not protecting the children. Take a listen to this. Now to remember Aisha Frazier. A candlelight visual begins in about half an hour. We are expecting hundreds of people here tonight and already dozens have gathered. Aisha Frazier's family saying this outpouring of love and support and grief is a testament to the woman that she was.

It is difficult for people to picture Aisha Frazier without a smile. There was something special about her and her community reaction to her death is evidence of that. But underneath her smile, her family says Frazier feared her ex-husband Lance Mason. But she was scared of him. Oh yes, deathly afraid of him. Deathly afraid. The fear came from heated conversations and bubbled over after a beating that hospitalized Frazier and sent Mason to prison. After he got out, her family says the couple had an arrangement to exchange custody of their two young daughters at this home on Chagrin Boulevard, owned by Aisha, rented by Mason's sister.

On Saturday, the arrangement that had been working so well went so terribly wrong. On Saturday, he waited for her. And when she pulled in to drop the kids off, as agreed, as she was taking the children out of the car, he attacked her. These two children are left with no mother or no father. Drama and tragedy for a woman her Uncle George says was goodness personified. A woman who leaves a hole in this community, in this school where she taught for 16 years. It is said that you know that you

lived a good life when people never stop mentioning your name. Her name will be mentioned for very, very, very, very many years. The couple's two young daughters are with Aisha's best friend, their godmother. She plans to adopt them. Again, that candlelight vigil expected to begin at 5.30. There are already dozens and dozens

of family and friends gathered to remember Aisha Frazier. You know, you're hearing from our friends at WABC 5, that's Anne Bash, excuse me, that's Homa Bash. You know, vigils are wonderful, memorials great, letting the balloons go, putting the teddy bears in front of the scene of the crime. But what tastes so bad in my mouth is this so easily could have been stopped if Judge Lance Mason had been kept behind bars. Police identified the murder victim as Aisha Fraser. At approximately 9 33 a.m. Shaker Heights police respond to this 17,000 block of Chagrin Boulevard for a domestic dispute. Police say the first officer on scene had his SUV broadsided on the driver's side

by the suspect who was trying to escape. Police say the officer and the suspect were treated at the hospital for their injuries. Police say former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason was taken into custody. To Joseph Scott Morgan, author of Blood Beneath My Feet, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State. Joe Scott, what I'm looking at now is how we're going to prove the case. How can we keep Lance Mason behind bars this time since it didn't work the first time? Well, hopefully none of these same politicians are going to have anything to say about it. But from an evidentiary standpoint, I think that if this prior assault can be introduced,

you can show this line of connectivity between his behavior. And it culminates in not just a single stab, not just two stabs, but it's an event that involved multiple stab wounds where she is in a restricted area, and this is what we refer to as overkill. This is generally associated with people that have a tremendous amount of violence, rage, anger. And I suspect, you know, over this period of time, and I've worked many cases like this, these are some of the most violent when you're talking about these domestic events like this. I suspect that he had just been just seething

over a period of time as he is forced to take his kids at this location. He sees himself as some kind of victim. And at the end of the day, you know, you've got these two precious little children that have literally witnessed their mother be slaughtered in front of this house by this man. To Larry Mayher, will the state be seeking the death penalty or do we know? The prosecution has not yet stated whether it's going to seek the death penalty or do we know? The prosecution has not yet stated whether it's going to seek the death penalty. The death penalty is available to the prosecutors since he is charged with both murder and aggravated murder. Aggravated murder in Ohio is approximately what

first-degree murder is in other jurisdictions. Listen. You are charged with one count of aggravated murder, one count of murder, one count of felonious assault, one count of violating the protection order, one count of grand theft, and one count of felonious assault. Do you understand the charges against you? Yes, Your Honor. Do you wish to enter a plea, sir? Not guilty. The court accepts the plea of not guilty. The court will, of course, have jurisdiction of this case. Mr. Mason? Yes, sir.

You probably are already aware of this, but just so it's on the record, I'm normally down in Stark County, Hall of Fame area, and I was asked by the Supreme Court to handle this case because the judges here in Calgary County had recused themselves. You are aware of that, sir? Yes. And I do have that appointment, and is that acceptable to you, sir? Yes, John. All right.

Very good. As it relates to bond, I'm going to accept the recommendation, set that bond at $5 million. Two years after the government let him loose, let him loose after he slammed her head into the dashboard of a car so badly it broke her orbital bone in her face. She had to have plastic surgery. A judge, in his wisdom, allowed this piece of crap, Judge Lance Mason, her former husband, her attacker, out of jail early. He stabs her dead once again with the children watching and hearing the whole thing. May he rot in hell.

Important to listen to victims, to ask them these questions, to assess their risk for potential homicide because there are services available for them. We do know that domestic violence homicides are predictable. The risk factors are very clear. Access to guns is a significant predictor. Did I mention the 2,300 live rounds of ammunition he had? 500 shotgun slugs, four canisters of smoke, grenades, a bulletproof vest, and a Jaguar knife.

Okay, that's beside the point. Just wanted to let you know that. Nancy, you were talking earlier about who supported Judge Mason's early release. Cleveland 19's Lydia Aspara spoke to one of the more than 30 judges and lawyers who wrote letters of support, and this one now says he regrets it. By all accounts, Lance Mason appeared to be reformed after he beat his wife. So no one who knew him would have ever believed he would have been capable of this. On Lance Mason's Facebook page, anger all directed towards the former judge. Police say Mason stalked his ex-wife, Aisha Frazier, stabbed her, killing her in front of their two girls. Since then, horrified friends and strangers have trolled his Facebook page.

Attorney Sabood Chandra has been trolled, too, after he wrote a letter of support for then-Judge Mason, a wife-beater who spent time in prison. My belief was at the time was that this was aberrational conduct on his part for which he felt great remorse. And by phone he explains why he supported him. When you made the decision you were basing it on the character of the person you knew at the time. He had a good reputation for being a smart kind good-tempered judge. And why he now regrets it. Lydia, let's just be clear. I'm not a victim of any kind.

I mean, it's his ex-wife and his children who are terrible victims in this tragedy. While I deeply regret that I wrote this letter, given what's transpired, I made the best judgment that I could at the time about trying to ensure that his children were not impoverished. The children was Chandra's focus, and he believed Mason was a changed man. I had run into Judge Mason on the rapid three weeks ago, and he was warm and friendly and kind, generous, asked questions about my kids and

how they were doing and now mason spent many many hours here at the justice center being the firm hand against domestic violence now it appears he'll be on the other side of the law again there was something special about her and the community reaction to her death is evidence of that. It is said that you know that you lived a good life when people never stop mentioning your name. Her name will be mentioned for very, very, very, very many years. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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