Skip to main content

Disgraced Judge Pleads Not Guilty to Ex-Wife's Murder

By William Vogeler, Esq. on December 05, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

What happened to Lance Mason, the former state lawmaker and county judge who apparently stabbed his ex-wife to death?

For now, he is in custody for the alleged murder and faces life in prison -- especially if his sister has anything to do with it. According to reports, Mason called her and confessed.

But what happened to the former judge before that tragic day? It's impossible to know exactly when it happened, but it started years before the killing.

Fatal Stabbing

In a 911 call to Shaker Heights police on the morning of Nov. 17, a woman told a dispatcher that Mason killed his ex-wife.

"I need the police immediately, my brother is attacking his ex-wife," the woman says, adding that it happened outside a home. "He stabbed her, and he says she's dead."

As police responded to the scene, Mason crashed an SUV into a police cruiser and seriously injured an officer. Mason tried to escape on foot, but police chased him down.

He was charged with felonious assault for hitting the officer. Aisha Fraser, meanwhile, was dead.

Brutal Beating

It was the second time Mason had brutally attacked her. In 2014, Mason beat his then-wife so severely she needed surgery to reconstruct her face.

According to prosecutors, he punched her 20 times in the face, smashed her head against the dashboard of their SUV, and then threw her out. Their children, ages 4 and 6, were in the back seat.

Police found 2,500 rounds of ammunition, semi-automatic weapons, smoke grenades, a bulletproof vest, and a sword in his home. Mason pleaded guilty to various charges, received a two-year prison sentence, lost his job and his law license.

He was out nine months later and got an administrative job. It was supposed to be a second chance for Mason, but on Nov. 17 Fraser had no chance.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard