Freddie Porter

Freddie Porter, a 42-year-old Black man from Caro, Michigan, was remembered by loved ones for his loving and protective nature, his humor, and a smile that was always on his face. A father of two boys, he was described as a smart and fearless man who was deeply loved and is profoundly missed by his family and friends, one of whom called him a brother for over 25 years.

On the morning of April 6, 2017, a local police officer on patrol noticed a suspicious vehicle, a Chevrolet Malibu, parked in the lot at the Mitchell Softball Complex in Corunna, Michigan. At around 8 a.m., police were formally called to the scene on the north side of the Shiawassee River. After obtaining a search warrant, authorities opened the trunk of the car and made a grim discovery. Inside was the body of Freddie Porter; the vehicle was his own.

The Michigan State Police immediately took charge of what was determined to be a homicide investigation. While Porter’s body was found in Shiawassee County, investigators quickly established that he had been killed in the city of Flint, in neighboring Genesee County. According to a gun violence memorial page, Freddie Porter died from a gunshot wound. An intensive investigation led by state police detectives pointed to three individuals from Flint as the perpetrators.

Less than two weeks later, on the night of Monday, April 17, 2017, authorities arrested three suspects in connection with the murder. The following morning, Ojwjuan Jamal King, 33, Hillery Marshall, 27, and Wesley Wilson, 25, were formally arraigned in Genesee County. All three men were charged with open murder, tampering with evidence, and felony firearm possession. Following their arraignment, they were held without bond at the Genesee County Jail as the case prepared to move through the court system.

In the wake of his death, a GoFundMe campaign was organized by a family member to help cover funeral expenses and provide support for his two sons. The page served as a space for friends and family to share their grief and memories of a man taken from them by violence. Tributes remembered his infectious laugh and the positive impact he had on those who knew him.

The case against the three men charged with Freddie Porter's murder proceeded through the Genesee County courts. Publicly available information details their initial arrest and the charges filed against them. However, subsequent reporting on the specific verdicts and sentencing for Ojwjuan King, Hillery Marshall, and Wesley Wilson in connection to this case is not readily available. As of the initial reports in April 2017, the case was pending litigation, with the three accused men facing the possibility of life in prison if convicted on the murder charges. The final disposition of their cases remains within the court records.