Get notified by email when this case is updated.
Written by B. Collins
Published December 27, 2022 @ 9:30 PM ET
Gordon County (December 3, 2022) – Police responded to a call from 465 Mt. Zion Road about a dead body being located inside the front seat of a vehicle. The body was upside down in the front passenger seat and was concealed by a large pile of clothing.
When police arrived at the crime scene, the juvenile nephew of Tate was outside the residence and told police that his aunt April Tate, was inside “wigging out.” Two other family member witnesses were on the scene. Officers noted seeing something significant concealed in the front seat of the Brown Nissan Pathfinder parked outside the home. Officers were given permission to enter the vehicle as the driver’s door was unlocked.
Inside the vehicle, police identified a white male victim, Mark Kenneth Freese, upside down with his head on the floorboard and his legs at the headrest. Blood was noted on the floorboard of the vehicle. His head and face were already discolored purple.
When police went to the door to ask to speak with the driver of the vehicle, Tate came to the door and said, “me, yeah, me.” When police asked Tate what happened, she began speaking nonsense and, with slurred speech, stated, “um, well, I’m out here talking before I handle this business” and “that’s real shit right there.” When asking the witnesses if Tate was the only one in the vehicle, they responded yes.
When asking the witness what had occurred, one of them stated that they had received a call from another man the day prior that Tate had possibly killed someone, but that this person is known for paranoia, and she did not believe the allegations.
The witness also stated that her husband said Tate had come by the residence and he would not allow Tate to stay but did jump off her vehicle. He did not mention seeing a body.
According to the witness, Tate had come to the home this morning in the Nissan Pathfinder and said she had killed someone. She distracted Tate while the other witness went to check out the vehicle. When the other witness opened the car, they were shocked to see a body inside and immediately called 911.
When police searched Tate for weapons, Tate laughed and replied, “it’s right there underneath him.” Tate was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and murder. She was transported to Gordon County Jail. The case is currently pending in court.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
[NARRATIVE #1 on December 03, 2022]
On Saturday, December 03, 2022 at approximately 1127 hours, Deputy E. A. OCHOA with the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division responded to [400 BLOCK] Mt. Zion Road, Resaca, Gordon County, Georgia in reference to locating a dead body inside a vehicle.
Upon arrival, Deputy OCHOA met with a male juvenile ([REDACTED BY AGENCY]) outside of the residence of [400 BLOCK] Mt. Zion Road. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] said that his aunt, later identified as APRIL TATE, was “wigged out.” [REDACTED BY AGENCY] said that APRIL was inside the residence and was tripping out. During this time Deputy OCHOA was trying to look inside the vehicle (A Brown 2008 Nissan Pathfinder) and noticed something large was being concealed in the front right passenger seat with clothing. Deputy OCHOA tried unlocking the door from the passenger side, but it was locked.
Deputy OCHOA asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if someone could unlock the vehicle. Deputy OCHOA then went to the driver side door and opened it. The driver side door was already unlocked. Deputy OCHOA then unlocked all the doors to the vehicle. Deputy OCHOA then walked back to the front passenger door and opened it. Once Deputy OCHOA opened the door, he saw a white male subject, later identified as [VICTIM #1]. Mr. [VICTIM #1] was upside down with his head on the floorboard and his legs at the head rest. There was also blood on the floorboard. Mr. [VICTIM #1]’s head and face was already discolored to the color purple.
Deputy OCHOA and Deputy FLIPPEN then walked up onto the front porch of the residence to speak with the driver of the vehicle, APRIL. Deputy FLIPPEN asked the homeowner, [WITNESS #1], who was with the guy in the car. APRIL then came to the front door and said “me, yea me.” Deputy FLIPPEN asked APRIL what happened. APRIL then replied, “um, well I’m out here talking before I handle this business. Um and then I was going to do that cause that’s mine, that’s real here, that’s real sh*t right there.”
Deputy FLIPPEN then asked [WITNESS #1] and [REDACTED] if APRIL was the only one inside the vehicle. [WITNESS #1] then replied to Deputy FLIPPEN, “yes.” During this time [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [WITNESS #1], and [REDACTED] were still on the front porch. Deputy OCHOA and Deputy FLIPPEN told them to go inside, while they spoke to APRIL, which they did. As Deputy FLIPPEN and Deputy OCHOA were telling [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [WITNESS #1], and [REDACTED] to go inside the residence, [REDACTED] was asking the Deputies, “is that, what’s in it, what’s in it?” APRIL was heard saying, “She already knows.” APRIL also told the Deputies that they could not tell them what to do.
Once [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [WITNESS #1], and [REDACTED] went inside the residence, Deputy FLIPPEN asked APRIL again what happened? APRIL replied,”Um, well are you real police though?” Deputy replied to APRIL yes. APRIL replied by saying, “I’m talking to him (Deputy FLIPPEN), he is honest and wants to know.” APRIL was asked again what happened, and she replied with a slur speech, “bout the car here, it’s real though, that what car I was in, that’s real sh*t right there, I aint denying that. I got respect. Be easy, don’t be uneasy with me.”
Deputy OCHOA and Deputy FLIPPEN then detained APRIL with department issued handcuffs, and escorted APRIL to the front of Deputy OCHOA’s marked patrol vehicle, with the front camera activated. As Deputy OCHOA was escorting APRIL to the patrol vehicle, APRIL made a comment, “make sure his leg stays out.” She then began chanting unintelligibly. Once APRIL was placed in front of Deputy OCHOA’s front camera, Deputy OCHOA conducted a pat down for weapons. Deputy OCHOA told APRIL he was patting her down for weapons, and APRIL laughed and replied, “It’s right there underneath him.”
APRIL was then placed in Deputy OCHOA’s patrol vehicle. Deputy FLIPPEN notified the proper chain of command. Detective M.S. HILL arrived at the residence and the scene was turned over to him. Deputy OCHOA began a crime scene log and placed crime scene tape around the area where the victim Mr. [VICTIM #1] was found.
[End of Narrative]
[NARRATIVE #2 on December 03, 2022]
Deputy OCHOA spoke to [WITNESS #1] and asked her what happened. [WITNESS #1] was upset and kept going back and forth with her story. Deputy OCHOA had to tell [WITNESS #1] multiple times to stay on track and to tell him only things relevant to the incident. What Deputy OCHOA could gather and understand from [WITNESS #1] was that she was notified sometime yesterday that APRIL had possibly killed someone.
Deputy OCHOA asked [WITNESS #1] who advised her of that and she said a guy named [REDACTED] (it was unsure if the [REDACTED]’s name was spelled correctly by [WITNESS #1]). [WITNESS #1] said [REDACTED] lives at [900 BLOCK] Oak Hill Street, Chatsworth, Murray County. [WITNESS #1] said that [REDACTED] called her on her cell phone and told her that APRIL came to his residence in a nice looking SUV. [WITNESS #1] said that [REDACTED] told her that APRIL had something rolled up in the front passenger seat. [WITNESS #1] said that she hanged up the phone with [REDACTED] because he stays paranoid and did not believe the allegations.
[WITNESS #1] also told Deputy OCHOA that her husband, [REDACTED] told her that APRIL had come to her residence. [WITNESS #1] said that [REDACTED] would not allow APRIL to stay and only assisted APRIL by jumping her vehicle off with jumper cables, but [REDACTED] did not mention anything about seeing a body in the front seat.
[WITNESS #1] told Deputy OCHOA that this morning when APRIL arrived at her residence, she arrived in the Nissan Pathfinder. [WITNESS #1] said that APRIL told her that she had killed someone. [WITNESS #1] said that she distracted APRIL, so [REDACTED] could go look inside the Pathfinder. [WITNESS #1] said that [REDACTED] opened the driver side door and looked inside. [WITNESS #1] said that [REDACTED] then looked shocked from what she saw and called 911.
Deputy OCHOA transported APRIL to the Gordon County Jail without incident and was released to the jail staff. Deputy OCHOA retrieved APRIL’s property at the jail for evidence. The property was released to Detective HILL for evidence, receipt for property #20528.
[End of Narrative]