Oregon man gets life for killing 3-year-old son, child’s mother

McMINNVILLE, Ore. — A man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing Salem, Ore., resident Karissa Fretwell and their 3-year-old son Billy Fretwell.

Michael Wolfe, 55, was sentenced Wednesday to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years for aggravated murder and a second life sentence with parole possible after 25 years for second-degree murder, KGW-TV reported. The sentences will be served concurrently, and he’ll receive credit for time served since his arrest in 2019.

Wolfe pleaded guilty to the charges in June, three years after Karissa and Billy’s bodies were found in a remote wooded area west of Yamhill.

Karissa, who was 25 when she was killed, and Billy were last seen on May 13, 2019, and reported missing several days later. Wolfe was arrested in late May 2019.

Two months before, Wolfe had been ordered to pay about $900 per month in child support. Detectives met with Billy’s babysitter, who said Karissa had told her that Wolfe and his wife had threatened her and told her they were going to take the boy and gain custody of him, court documents said.

Karissa’s cause of death was determined to be homicide by a gunshot wound to the head. Billy’s cause of death remains undetermined, according to Yamhill County District Attorney Brad Berry.