Bio

Public records and news reports give little information about Donna Marie Freeman's childhood and early years. She was born in 1978. She is from Jackson County, Mississippi, and has been described in news accounts as a woman from the Helena community and St. Martin.

Reports say Freeman knew Charles Ike Mason for about two years. Officials and court records note that he had bought her a trailer and a car and had provided help to her.

Freeman was married and has three sons. In 2014 she told the court her sons were about 15, 17 and 18 years old.

Her defense lawyer said she "lived a pretty good life" until she met Jeffrey Allen, about two months before later events mentioned in court documents.

Murder Story

Donna Marie Freeman was connected to the March 2, 2011, death of 85-year-old Charles Ike Mason Jr. in Helena, Jackson County, Mississippi. Authorities said Mason was found shot inside his home at Mason's Junkyard on Hog Island.

Investigators said Freeman shot Mason one time in the back with a .22 caliber rifle. They said money and a cell phone were taken from Mason after the shooting. The rifle and the phone were later tossed in a waterway and recovered after Jeffrey Grey Allen told investigators where to search.

Freeman was arrested and later indicted in the case. She was charged alongside Jeffrey Allen, who was later found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. A third person, Joshua Keith Davis, was indicted for accessory after the fact.

On October 1, 2011, Freeman was arrested on the capital murder charge. She eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. In court she said, "I shot and killed Charles Mason."

On March 13, 2014, Judge Robert Krebs sentenced Freeman to 27 years in prison, day-for-day, with court costs and a $1,000 fine. She also pleaded guilty to an unrelated burglary and was sentenced to an additional 25 years, with seven to serve and 18 years under post-release supervision, to run consecutive to the murder sentence. She was ordered to pay court costs, fines, and to have no contact with Mason's family.