Man Who Killed Victim with a Water Meter Key was Sentenced to Life

A Tulsa man was sentenced today for First Degree Murder in Indian Country after being convicted by a federal jury in Nov. 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge John F. Heil, III, sentenced Kyle Edwin Freeman, 37, member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, to life imprisonment.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Freeman had been staying with the victim, Donald Thomas in the days leading up to the murder. Freeman and his girlfriend were in a physical altercation. Witnesses said that Thomas was successful in breaking up the altercation and even exchanged a hug with Freeman, who appeared to be calm. Approximately 20 minutes later, Freeman entered the room with a water meter key and struck Thomas over the head several times killing him.  

Freeman will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

The FBI, Tulsa Police Department, Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police Department, and the Creek County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Elmore and John E. Brasher prosecuted the case.