Scot jailed for 20 years for shooting and killing paralysed wife in US loses appeal

A Scottish expat who was jailed for 20 years in the United States after shooting his paralysed wife to death has lost an appeal against his sentence.

Wayne Fraser was found guilty of the manslaughter of Natalie Ryan-Fraser, 55, at Lowndes County Court House in September 2023.

The 47-year-old originally moved to America in 2010 from Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, after forging a relationship with the university professor.

The couple married in 2014 and settled in Texas.

Mrs Fraser’s body was found in an apartment in Caledonia, Mississippi, in December 2021, one day after she made a post on social media from a restaurant with her husband saying “dinner with my love”.

Judge James T. Kitchens Jr told Fraser he would spend the next 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence that he could impose for the crime.

The indictment against him stated that “he did feloniously, wilfully and unlawfully with deliberate design to effect the death of Natalie Fraser… without the authority of law and not in necessary self-defence”.

Mr Fraser did not face the death penalty as he was not charged with capital murder, which is reserved for the “most serious cases”.

Court documents confirmed Fraser’s appeal was thrown out by the Mississippi Supreme Court on January 13.

His defence team argued that the original trial judge made an error in letting the jury see emails and photos from Fraser’s phone, revealing earlier alleged abuse.

However, the appeal ruling stated: “After reviewing the record, we find no error by the trial court in allowing the emails and photographs to be introduced at trial.

“Further, we find no error by the trial court in limiting the testimony of Fraser’s expert witness. Finally, we find that the evidence was sufficient to support Fraser’s conviction.

“Therefore, Fraser’s conviction and sentence for culpable negligence manslaughter are affirmed.”