THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408200220
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
The day after his wife was killed, Lt. Cmdr. Michael Fricke put a ``Do Not Disturb'' sign on the front door of the couple's Kempsville home.
Later that week, he refused to attend a private family viewing of the body and tried to block a memorial service at Oceana Naval Air Station, according to testimony Friday in military court.
When Roxanne Fricke's ashes were laid to rest in her hometown outside Jacksonville, Fla., Michael Fricke took off his wedding ring.
``He put it in the crypt with her,'' testified Roxanne's mother, Elizabeth Wade. ``He said, `Till death do us part. You're dead.'
``Then he turned and walked away.''
Wade's words opened testimony Friday, the fifth day of Fricke's court-martial at Norfolk Naval Base.
Fricke, 37, a supply officer, is charged with hiring a hit man to gun down his wife six years ago in a supermarket parking lot.
A jury panel of 14 senior officers has been selected to decide whether he is guilty of premeditated murder and, if so, whether he should be sentenced to death.
If he is given the death penalty, Fricke will be the only Navy man among six military members on death row in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He will also be the only officer.
The case against Fricke is built largely on circumstantial evidence and the word of a federal felon who claims he was the go-between in the alleged murder-for-hire scheme.
Prosecutors contend the murder stemmed from a classic love triangle, claiming Fricke was embroiled in an affair with a family friend. They say he had his wife killed after she threatened to divorce him and take custody of their toddler son, Vaughn.
Defense attorneys argue that Roxanne Fricke was the victim of a random robbery outside the Virginia Beach supermarket. They say their client was not involved and had been a loving husband.
But testimony Friday provided prosecutors with another motive - $128,000.
Copies of insurance forms introduced into evidence showed that Fricke collected $27,000 from a life insurance policy less than one month after the May 13, 1988, shooting. Four weeks later, he received more than $100,900.
John T. Coffey, a financial planner with Wheat First Securities, testified Friday that the larger payment was the death benefit from a term policy Fricke had purchased in March 1988 - two months before the slaying.
He said he had been approached by Fricke while he was teaching a financial-planning course at Oceana. He agreed to meet with the couple to discuss future investments.
Coffey testified that Roxanne Fricke had been opposed to buying more life insurance but at the end of the meeting had agreed to three new policies for herself, her husband and their son.
In April 1988, Coffey testified, Michael Fricke called him to talk about the new policies. When he learned that his wife's insurance had been held up because of medical records, he asked whether she was already covered by the $20 premium he had paid in advance.
``He asked a hypothetical question,'' Coffey testified. `` `What if something happens to my wife?' ''
Coffey assured him that she was covered. It was the third time in two months Michael Fricke had asked Coffey that question.
On cross-examination, Coffey acknowledged that the policies taken out by Fricke were standard for young couples, especially for those who have recently had a child.
Also called to testify Friday were three women who worked for Fricke when he was control officer in the Oceana supply department. The women testified that they did not see Fricke at work in the days after the murder, contradicting his claims to family members that he was going to the office.
Armella R. Walsh, one of the women, told the panel of a conversation she overheard in Fricke's office last year. She couldn't remember when or who else was involved.
``He said she was going to leave and take Vaughn and he told her it was over her dead body,'' Walsh testified.
``Why do you remember that statement?'' asked the prosecutor.
``Because it's wrong,'' replied Walsh. ``The phrase is supposed to be `over my dead body.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Lt. Cmdr. Michael Fricke is charged with hiring a hit man to kill
his wife, Rox-anne, in 1988.
KEYWORDS: MURDER TRIAL COURT-MARTIAL MURDER FOR HIRE by CNB