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On the night of Wednesday, August 1, 2018, the Griffin Police Department in Georgia responded to a frantic 911 call from 24-year-old Mary Katherine Higdon who told the dispatcher that she accidentally shot her 23-year-old boyfriend, Steven Freeman. She explained that she didn’t realize there had been a bullet in the chamber. Was this a tragic accident or would forensic evidence prove that Steven had been murdered?
Steven Andrew Freeman was born on January 1, 1995 in Griffin, Georgia to parents Troy & Jennifer Freeman. He had a brother named Blake & they were raised in a loving household. Steven had a stable & happy childhood that helped form his cheerful, care-free disposition. He was someone who was kind-hearted & laidback & was known to be laughing & smiling. He adored the outdoors, duck hunting & deer hunting.
Steven was a loyal person who had a solid group of friends & was well-liked within his community. He was someone who didn’t shy away from expressing his feelings & once wrote his mom a note to express his love & gratitude for all she had done for him. He wrote, To the most wonderful woman in the world. He wrote about how proud he was that his mom had gone back to school to get her college degree.
During his time in high school Steven started a relationship with a girl named Mary Katherine Higdon. She was born on March 14, 1994, also in Griffin, Georgia & in their small town, she was known for her ambition & caring nature. Her family said that she was always the entertainer in the room & was a fun-loving girl.
As the relationship began, many saw Steven & Mary Katherine as a young couple who were deeply in love & shared their hopes & dreams for their futures. The couple had a shared love of hunting, fishing & spending time outdoors. Troy & Jennifer Freeman had Mary Katherine over every Sunday for dinner & they grew to see her as a daughter.
Sadly, as Steven & Mary Katherine entered adulthood, the relationship grew increasingly tumultuous with extreme highs & lows.
Friends of Steven & Mary Katherine began to notice a shift in their dynamic together & saw their fun-loving ways shifting, the relationship becoming increasingly toxic, marked with jealousy & emotional manipulation. Despite the rockiness, Steven maintained his loyalty & dedication to try to make the relationship work & after graduation they moved in together. Steven had a job repairing roofs while Mary Katherine was a school aid at a preschool.
Despite their cohabitation, the turmoil continued & family & friends witnessed arguments that quickly escalated. Those that were close to Steven were aware that despite the fact that he still loved Mary Katherine, he felt trapped in a volatile cycle. To his close friends, he expressed concerns regarding the stability or lack thereof of her mental & emotional state.
At approximately 10:30 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, a single gunshot rang out in the night & the Griffin Police Department responded to a frantic 911 call that was placed by 24-year-old Mary Katherine. She told the dispatcher that she accidentally shot her boyfriend, 23-year-old Steven Freeman in the neck. She explained that she grabbed the gun to bring it to their bedside & hadn’t realized that there was a bullet in the chamber.
During the 911 call, Mary Katherine could be heard pleading for help, claiming that she never intended for the gun to go off. She could be heard screaming at Steven to look at her.
When police arrived at the home that Steven shared with Mary Katherine, she was tending to him on the bed as paramedics immediately tended to Steven’s life-threatening injuries, noting that Steven had been struck by a bullet in the chest. Paramedics found the 23-year-old critically injured & unresponsive, laying on a mattress in the living room, still with a pulse. In the meantime, police spoke with a distraught Mary Katherine as they secured the scene. She screamed over & over, I cannot lose him! Steven was rushed to the hospital, but tragically, he died just before midnight.
Word of Steven’s death quickly spread through the town & those that knew him were shocked & devastated.
Mary Katherine told the police officers that she was handing the gun to Steven when it accidentally fired. She explained that he liked to keep it next to the bed at night for safety as they slept. She was standing in the kitchen & he was on a mattress in the living room.
As investigators began to look around the home on Sunnybrook Drive, they noted a very chaotic scene & saw that food was strewn around the kitchen which led them to believe that an altercation or argument had occurred before the 911 call was placed. These findings made investigators wonder if this could be much more than an unfortunate accident. Ironically, they also noted a wooden sign on the wall that read: BEWARE one shotgun tote’n pistol packin’ southern belle lives here.
Police soon learned that Mary Katherine once worked at a local sporting goods store selling guns & both she & Steven owned firearms that they kept in their home, but Mary Katherine told police that she never kept a round in the chamber of her gun. Police photographed several firearms in the home including hunting rifles.
Police brought Mary Katherine into the station for further questioning. This was when she told detectives that the gun went off when she was tossing it to Steven. However, investigators at the scene indicated that Mary Katherine never mentioned that she tossed the gun, she said she handed it to Steven & this is when she accidentally shot him below the neck.
The interview quickly morphed into an interrogation & detectives immediately noticed the inconsistencies in Mary Katherine’s account of events that led to Steven’s death. The prosecution later indicated that she had changed her story or added details ten different times, starting with her 911 call. The detective was stunned when suddenly Mary Katherine confessed that she shot Steven & said, I did it out of anger. With that, she was arrested for the murder of Steven Freeman.
Detectives were sure that with the confession, it would be an open & shut case, however, they soon realized that there was nothing but feedback on much of the recording that couldn’t be fixed & Mary Katherine’s confession could not be heard. They were now faced with the task of building their case to prove that she had murdered Steven Freeman without the proof of the recorded confession.
Mary Katherine went on to tell her father & sister that she shot Steven in self defense as he began to lunge at her. She told them that after she cooked him dinner, he threw it in her face so she held up the gun to scare him so he would leave as she told him to get the f**k out of her house. She claimed that he suddenly lunged at her & the next thing she knew, he was bleeding.
The issue was that this was something she never once told the police & later indicated that she didn’t want to admit that Steven had a history of violence with her. According to Mary Katherine, Steven would grab her & smack her in the face or head. However, blood evidence in the bedroom told detectives that Steven had been sitting down when he was shot which indicated that she shot him in cold blood. There was no evidence to suggest he was moving toward her as she fired. Not only that, but Steven’s friends indicated that they had only ever witnessed violence from Mary Katherine as she slapped him. Each time this happened, they indicated that Steven would only grab her hand to stop her from continuing.
However, Mary Katherine’s sister claimed that she noticed bruising on her sister’s body two weeks before Steven was shot. When she pulled her to the side & asked her about it, Mary Katherine told her that Steven grabbed her too hard.
Forensic teams collected evidence from Steven & Mary Katherine’s home & surrounding area as well as the gun to investigate for any potential evidence that could give investigators clues as to what happened before the gun went off.
When the gun was examined, forensic experts noted that the weapon had been loaded which was directly against what Mary Katherine told investigators. It was clear that the home showed signs of a struggle & Mary Katherine had prepared London broil for dinner that night. In addition to food being thrown around the house, cooking grease was found on the magazine & the slide of the gun which they believe was proof that the shooting was not an accident. At some point, the magazine was out & Mary Katherine had loaded the gun & racked it that night with her grease coated hands as the fight began to escalate & food was thrown around.
Police also discovered text messages that Steven sent to his friend Andrew McRee three months before his death:
mk is running around screaming at the top of her lungs outside
And now she’s trying to shoot me
And herself
Andrew told investigators that one month after he received these extremely concerning texts from his friend, Steven told Andrew that during this fight, he was truly scared since he saw a look in Mary Katherine’s eyes that made him believe that she was truly capable of killing him. Because of this, Steven left their home & came to stay with Andrew, but Steven never reported this incident to police, hoping he would be able to manage the situation himself.
Mary Katherine admitted that she struggled with her mental health & claimed that these texts were in reference to a time when she was trying to kill herself. She said that during this incident, she never pointed a gun in Steven’s direction. Steven’s friends indicated that he previously voiced concern that she could be potentially dangerous. Chase Pruitt indicated that Mary Katherine had pulled a gun on Steven in the past on at least 3-4 occasions. At least three of Steven’s friends had been told that she had done this in the past & when they learned that he had been shot, they had no doubt in their minds that she was responsible.
The relationship was an on again, off again rollercoaster right up to the end. Two days before Steven died, he texted Mary Katherine, Good morning beautiful! Don’t forget. She responded, Thank you. Have a great day! He responded, You too love you.
Despite the loving nature of these texts, when Jennifer spoke with her son the very next day, she asked Steven if they were arguing & he told his mom that he was not going home because he was running from Satan. That night, only one day before he died, Steven did stay at his friend’s house while Mary Katherine continued to call & text him while he continued to ignore her. She wrote Wow blocked my number again thanks.
It was the following night that Steven came home, Mary Katherine made him dinner & then he was shot dead. Before he came home, review of Steven’s call log indicated that Mary Katherine had yet again been repeatedly calling him. When she was asked why, she said she simply wanted to know if he was coming home for dinner. Mary Katherine eventually got in touch with Steven’s mom Jennifer who told her that he was staying at his friend’s house. Jennifer, who had no idea that the situation would escalate as it did, still holds guilt to this day for telling Mary Katherine where to find her son.
As Mary Katherine was trying to track Steven down, he was already on his way home with his friend Thomas Skinner. Mary Katherine drove upon their car & began to ride close to the bumper. She pulled to the passenger side of Thomas’ truck where Steven sat in the passenger seat. As she rolled her window down, she began to scream at him at the top of her lungs, demanding to know if he was coming home. Steven told her to calm down & yes, he was coming home. Tragically, less than two hours later, he was dead.
Many wondered why, if Steven feared for his life, had he not just left the relationship? His friends believed that in hindsight, they feel they should have done more to encourage him to leave. After her son died, Jennifer Freeman learned that Mary Katherine often threatened to kill herself if he didn’t come home & she believes that this was why her son stayed in the relationship.
By July 2018, one month before his death, Steven had reached a breaking point & was preparing to leave. He made plans to move to another town with his friend Thomas, a fact he’d hidden from Mary Katherine. He planned to make the move while she was at work. Sadly, the move was set for two days after he was killed.
Police brought Steven’s friends in for questioning so they could better understand the nature of Steven & Mary Katherine’s relationship. This is when they learned that the relationship was very toxic, mostly due to Mary Katherine. According to the friend group, it was a very common occurrence that Mary Katherine was angry & yelling at Steven about something. They indicated that Steven was the type that would often walk away to diffuse the situation. During their arguments, he would block her number in his phone because she would incessantly call & message him.
Alijah Varela worked with Steven & told investigators that there were mornings that before Steven even managed to get to his first job site, he would have thirty missed calls from Mary Katherine. Police also spoke with neighbors who recalled hearing raised voices & arguing before the gunshot on the night of his death.
Mary Katherine was charged with multiple counts that included malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault & possession of a firearm during the commision of a crime.
Jennifer Freeman, Steven’s mom had not spoken to Mary Katherine since the tragedy of losing her son & Jennifer indicated that no explanation that she could ever give would be good enough for her since her son’s death was something that should have never happened. She indicated that her son was always incredibly calm & laid-back to the point that she would joke that he would outlive everyone because he never stressed out about anything & denied that he was a violent individual.
The trial began in June 2019 & quickly grew media attention due to the tragic circumstances surrounding Steven’s death & the complexities of the relationship between Steven & Mary Katherine. The prosecution argued that she had intent to kill while the defense maintained that she had only acted in self-defense due to a history of both mental & physical abuse at the hands of Steven.
The selection of jury members was a challenge as they had to remain impartial despite the emotional aspect of the case. Potential jurors were questioned on their views of domestic violence, self-defense & gun ownership.
As the trial began, the prosecution painted a picture of a woman who intentionally took the life of her boyfriend during a heated argument in a fit of rage. They pointed out evidence that proved that Mary Katherine had loaded the gun prior to the shooting as well as the chaotic state the house was found in.
The defense painted Steven as the villain in the story & indicated that Mary Katherine had been subjected to years of manipulation & abuse at the hands of Steven. They portrayed her as an innocent victim who was trapped in a toxic relationship & indicated that there was a side to Steven that no one was aware of.
Family, friends & experts testified & contributed to the narrative of the case. Thomas Skinner, who was a friend of Steven & Mary Katherine & had been with Steven only hours before his death, worked in a gun store with Mary Katherine. Thomas testified that Mary Katherine was very well versed in handling a gun; she could often be heard bragging about her knowledge of firearms to Steven & his friends. However, according to Mary Katherine, on the night of Steven’s death, she only held up the gun to hand it to Steven when it suddenly went off. Thomas knew that this was absolutely untrue. The Glock 42, the weapon that killed Steven would have to have bullets loaded into the magazine, the side at the top would have to be pulled back in order to chamber the bullet & then the weapon would be fired.
Friends of Steven described him as a loving & caring person & spoke of arguments they had witnessed between the couple, expressing concerns regarding Mary Katherine’s behavior.
Prosecutor Kate Lenhard told the jury that Mary Katherine had either revised or added details to her account of what happened on the night that Steven died at least ten times.
Mary Katherine Higdon took the stand in her own defense & testified that Steven had been the love of her life & she would have never done anything to intentionally hurt him. She was firm on the fact that she was unaware that a bullet had been in the chamber of the gun & it had simply been a tragic accident. She also discussed the emotional & physical abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of Steven & detailed examples of manipulation, jealousy & threats.
The defense attorneys pulled text messages from an old phone that belonged to Mary Katherine to support her claims about his abusive behavior. The texts were from one year before Steven was shot & reflected his reaction to Mary Katherine sleeping with a friend of Steven’s while they were on a break. There was a photo of Steven holding a dead fish & under the caption read, This is you bitch. There was another text that Steven sent that read, I’m gonna f**king wreck you for wrecking me.
Mental health experts were also called to the stand & discussed Battered Woman Syndrome & explained how it can affect a victim’s perception of danger & their response to threats.
Mary Katherine’s family & friends testified on her behalf & emphasized that she was a caring & nurturing person with a dedicated career as a preschool assistant. They indicated that she always sought to help others & argued that she was not a violent person.
The jury was shown the gun that was used to kill Steven & a Griffin police sergeant testified that when he first examined the gun, it looked wet & later realized it was cooking grease. Because there was cooking grease on the magazine of the gun, it proved that she had loaded the gun after she’d thrown the food at Steven that night.
Prosecutor Kate Lenhard told the jury that the relationship between Steven & Mary Katherine had been progressively unraveling & coming to a boiling point on the night of his death. She said that an enraged Mary Katherine shot Steven when he finally came home after he had ignored her texts throughout the day, her anger only growing with each ignored message. When he refused to eat the dinner she’d prepared for him, the fight only escalated.
According to Prosecutor Lenhard, Mary Katherine removed the magazine from the gun with her hands which were coated in grease & placed bullets in the magazine. She put the magazine into the gun & pulled the top of the gun back. She then shot her live-in boyfriend in a fit of anger & highlighted the fact that because grease was found inside the gun was evidence that this was not an accidental death & was instead murder.
Mary Katherine testified that she did not know that the gun was loaded that night & only held it up as she was fearful of Steven. She went on to read the jury threatening text messages that Steven sent to her one year earlier. She also said that he liked rough sex which had escalated to the point of rape. The prosecution highlighted that Mary Katherine had never one time told anyone about this & only used her opportunity as she stood on the stand, being accused of Steven’s murder to tell these lies, knowing he wasn’t there to defend himself.
The prosecution told the courtroom that hours before Mary Katherine killed Steven, she had been at a babysitting job where she searched the internet for violent pornography sites. She claimed she had only done this in order to please him. The prosecutor also focused on the fact that during Mary Katherine’s time with investigators in the interview room, she never once mentioned abuse behavior on Steven’s part. It had been Mary Katherine who called him incessantly, asking him to come home. The prosecutor wondered why she would desperately want her abuser to return.
After a week-long trial, the jury began to deliberate & had to make the decision if Mary Katherine Higdon acted in self-defense or had she murdered Steven Freeman. The jury deliberated for four hours & on February 1, 2019, they found Mary Katherine not guilty on all charges. Many in the courtroom were stunned & outraged by this decision.
The first vote the jury took was 10-2 in favor of a guilty verdict. The two jurors who voted not guilty questioned how it was possible that at the very moment when Mary Katherine made her confession in the interrogation room at the police station, the audio went out on the recording. They also referenced the fact that the police had moved the gun when they arrived at the scene, fearing that Mary Katherine was moving toward the weapon rather than moving Mary Katherine away & leaving the murder weapon as it was found. They also focused on the fact that investigators decided not to spend another $1800 to unlock Steven’s phone to search its contents.
Mary Katherine Higdon walked away from the courtroom a free woman.
Jennifer Freeman fully believes that her son was a victim of domestic violence & has gone on to share his story through advocacy work. She participated in a 5k run for the Promise Place in Thomaston, Georgia which assists victims of domestic violence & wore a shirt that read, Walk away, don’t stay.
Statistics show that 1 in 4 women & 1 in 7 men aged 18 & older in the U.S. have been the victim of severe physical violence by a partner in their lifetime. Overall, statistics indicate that one third of domestic abuse victims are men. Oftentimes there is a lack of training in the support & recognition of handling male domestic abuse victims & there tends to be a social stigma surrounding domestic abuse if the victim is a male & the perpetrator is a female. In many cases, there are missed opportunities to identify & support male victims since many don’t understand the issue. Statistics are likely much higher as many male victims do not report their abuse for fear that they won’t be believed or taken seriously.
If you are a victim of domestic violence, 24/7 help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. You can also text BEGIN to 88788.
References:
CBS News: Evidence photos in the case against Mary Katherine Higdon
YouTube: 48 Hours: The case against Mary Katherine Higdon
National Domestic Violence Hotline
CSJ: Why are men overlooked as victims of domestic abuse?
CBS News: Woman who shot & killed boyfriend says she didn’t know her gun had a bullet in the chamber
Medium: The girlfriend from hell: The Steven Freeman & Mary Katherine Higdon story
