Robert “Bobby” Freeman Sr – Nearly Forgotten

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Robert Freeman Sr was murdered in Easton, PA in 1992. Unfortunately his case has never been solved. Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Robert Freeman Sr was murdered in Easton, PA in 1992. Unfortunately, his case has never been solved. Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s been thirty years since the badly beaten body of Robert Freeman Sr turned up in an Easton, Pennsylvania farm field, but it seems authorities are no closer to solving his murder. His sister has given everything to finding his killer, and we’re diving in to uncover clues and keep attention on this cold case.

Robert Freeman's body was found in a farmers field in 1992.
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Blue Collar Backdrop

This 1992 unsolved crime occurred in the northeastern United States, in a region of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey known as the Lehigh Valley, a densely populated area built around the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. The blue-collar population here thrived during its early- and mid-20th century industrialization period. Quarries rich in natural resources like coal, shale, minerals, and gas provided the raw materials needed to produce the steel, concrete, and other products that built national infrastructure and aided American war efforts.

Its river canal system and proximity to major cities like New York and Philadelphia helped the Lehigh Valley become a prosperous hub. However, as demand for its products and labor declined, the region experienced economic hardship (Billy Joel describes this decline in his song “Allentown”). More recently, medical, professional, and technological services allowed for new growth, but the region’s industrial past is as visible as ever. Even the old Bethlehem Steel factory now functions as an arts and community center. 

Robert Freeman was murdered in 1992. Unfortunately his case has never been solved. Image courtesy of Lehigh Valley Live
image courtesy of Lehigh Valley Live

The victim in this case – Robert “Bobby” Freeman Sr – grew up in this region with a large family. He was born on the outskirts of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and eventually moved just across the river and state border to Easton, Pennsylvania. His father was a general laborer, and Freeman had been a welder with the maintenance crew at Ingersoll-Rand for 28 years when he was murdered. He lived in an apartment in Easton’s historic Centre Square, which in 1992 was part of “the strip.” From towns all around the Lehigh Valley, teenagers came to cruise and workers like Freeman came to spend some of their hard-earned money at one of several popular bars. 

“Average Joe” 

Coworkers, siblings, bar staff, and friends remembered Robert Freeman Sr as someone who “got along with anybody.” While he did frequent the bars, he was known to buy others drinks often and was considered to be “just a terrific person.” Freeman was a Korean War veteran and a member of the local American Legion post who would frequently “offer help to those in need.” 

Although he was separated from his wife, Anita, for 15 years at the time of his death, they maintained a friendship. In fact, the last day Anita saw him alive, she picked him up from work and took him to the bank to cash his paycheck (from which he gave her $20 and bought her KFC for dinner). We’ll learn about who had his car and why he needed a ride in the first place in a moment, but the consensus on Freeman was that he was a “well-liked” and “hardworking” man, not without his hardships, but no more than the “average Joe.” 

The only thing remarkable about Robert Freeman Sr was his size: he was a smaller than average man at just 5’ 2” and 130 pounds. But he balanced that out as a former boxer and black belt in karate. Those who knew him said he “never bothered anybody,” but he was certainly capable of defending himself if necessary. Freeman’s toughness was actually the reason friends and family thought early on that more than one attacker had to be involved, despite his slight stature.  

The Missing Firebird

Around 11:00 am on Saturday, January 18, 1992, the last day Robert Freeman Sr was seen alive, he visited Easton’s Square Bar and “had a few beers.” This bar no longer exists, but it was located on the same Centre Square where Freeman lived, within minutes’ walking distance of his home. 

He was supposed to be working overtime that Saturday, but his girlfriend at the time borrowed his Firebird and hadn’t returned it. This lent and now missing Firebird is also why Anita (Freeman’s estranged wife) had picked him up from work the day before.

In fact – and it’s unclear whether he knew this, or it was discovered after his murder – his girlfriend lent the car to someone else who took it to New York City to buy drugs. Freeman’s plan was to walk “the few blocks to her apartment to get it, but [he] wound up at the bar” instead. 

Reported Robbery 

We know that Robert Freeman Sr went to the Square Bar around 11:00 am, and he returned to the Square Bar around 4:30 pm with a male friend, but in the five and a half hours in between, Freeman made a few stops and filed a police report. First, he and a male friend stopped at a nearby business to return “a remote control box,” but the store was closed. Next, they headed to another Easton bar (the College Hill Tavern) and had a beer before returning to the Square Bar. 

At some point during this afternoon, Freeman contacted the police and told them that a “woman he met at the Square Bar…[took] $450 from [his jacket] at a residence in the 1700 block of Northampton Street.” This street is part of “the strip” and runs through Centre Square. It’s likely but not specifically stated that this residence was his male friend’s. The woman was actually a “known prostitute,” Mary Ann Pearce, who lived on North 5th Street in Easton, but it doesn’t appear that Freeman or his friend were soliciting her services. Police visited her residence and didn’t find Freeman’s money but “did find syringes and other items and charged Pearce with possession of drug paraphernalia.” 

Ferris’ Café

Around 6:30 pm, Freeman’s male friend left Square Bar and “eventually” Freeman does too. Reports vary as to whether he left alone, but he was next seen at Ferris’ Café in Phillipsburg, which was located at the intersection of Stockton and Sitgreaves Streets. If he didn’t get a ride from someone or have his car back yet, the walk is approximately 25 minutes, max. The bar staff remember about 15 patrons at Ferris’ Café that night, and two of them bought Freeman a drink while he was there. This is the location where Robert Freeman Sr was last seen alive, although again reports vary as to exactly when he left and with whom – anywhere from 7:30 pm to midnight. 

Firebird Found 

On Monday, January 20, 1992, Anita (Freeman’s estranged wife), filed a missing person’s report. She also joined his sister Rita in searching the bars “he was known to frequent,” and they discovered his car in the parking lot of Ferris’ Café. It’s not mentioned how or when Freeman recovered his car from his girlfriend, but here it turns up in the last place Freeman was seen alive “with the keys still in the ignition.” 

Rita drove the car back to Anita’s house while the police searched the parking lot for evidence. They found the “temple piece of his eyeglasses,” “traces of blood,” the “chain of his wallet,” and loose “change.” Police hypothesize that Freeman was beaten here at Ferris’ Café, but they aren’t sure he was killed there (or if he’s even dead at this point). 

Body Discovered 

At approximately 4:00 pm on Saturday, January 25, 1992, one week after Robert Freeman Sr was last seen alive, an Easton farmer discovered Freeman’s body in one of his fields. The property owner was walking “in the area to check on some corn he put out to feed deer,” and this is interesting because he placed the corn on Thursday, January 23 and noted that the deer had eaten it. Does this mean Freeman’s body wasn’t placed there until Thursday at the earliest, after the farmer left the corn? If that’s the case, where was Freeman for at least three days since his car and blood were recovered? 

Police, the coroner performing the autopsy, and the property owner described Freeman’s body as being in a “badly beaten” condition. His “body [was] frozen” and “lying face down,” “clad in thin shorts and the remnants of…a sweatshirt.” There were “stab wounds to his hands, wrists, and torso,” as well as “claw-hammer blows to his head.” And in what can only be described as an act of overkill – either out of rage or to make a statement – Freeman’s “injuries [were] consistent with having been run over by a car.” 

A Sister’s Dedication

If anything appeared in local news outlets about Freeman’s disappearance, it’s not easily accessible today. The first article on Robert Freeman Sr appears on Monday, January 27, 1992, two days after his body was found. Other than a single sentence giving Freeman’s age and address, the remainder of the article focused solely on the farmer’s discovery, emotions, and condition of the body. Fortunately, subsequent articles do elaborate more on Freeman’s life, character, and the investigation surrounding his death. Hopefully that lack of media attention in the critical early stages doesn’t mirror a lack of police effort as well.  

Freeman’s sister Rita is largely responsible for keeping attention on her brother’s case, although she has little to show for it. By 1994, Rita had invested in fruitless calls to telephone psychics, sent unfulfilled pleas to the Unsolved Mysteries television series, and fundraised and promoted a cash reward for tips that have yet to lead to an arrest. She conducted her own investigation, sharing every piece of information and evidence she collected with police, and maintains a personal case file to this day. 

Prime Suspect: Thor Frey

Known as Theodore Lacour at the time of the murder, Thor Frey is Rita’s prime suspect. She claims that Ferris’ Café patrons witnessed “Frey and others pick a fight with Freeman” the night he went missing (the same night he was presumably murdered). Additionally, Freeman’s girlfriend at the time – we assume it’s the same one he lent the Firebird to – told Rita details about Frey’s involvement and even gave her a personal item of Freeman’s that Frey had obtained during the murder. 

Police say they investigated Frey but “found no evidence linking him to the crime and he was excluded as a suspect.” To an outside observer, it’s just as likely that this girlfriend was involved and is framing Frey, or at least trying to shift the burden of blame more fully to him. If she’s not directly responsible for Freeman’s murder, perhaps the person she lent the Firebird to is and she shares some of that knowledge or guilt by association. Unfortunately, we don’t know the girlfriend’s name or any other information to research in connection with her background or claims. 

Despite the official dismissal of Frey, it’s hard to ignore Rita’s conviction and the fact that Frey is very much a bad guy capable of this crime. He is currently in prison for murdering a woman (by “beating and suffocation”) during a 2006 robbery in Phillipsburg (the same town where Ferris’ Café was located). There are about a dozen separate reported incidents, easily found online, from 1985 through the 1990s of Frey committing theft, check forgery, assault, etc. in the Lehigh Valley area (especially in Easton and Phillipsburg, where Freeman’s body and missing vehicle were located). 

Police Theory

Police had theorized that there was more than one attacker, and Frey was arrested with accomplices on several occasions. Most notably was an incident on Friday, January 24, 1992, the day before Freeman’s body was discovered. Frey and Barry Wolbert, of Easton, got a ride at Easton’s Centre Square from a woman who “said she was [later] forced out at knife point and abandoned. Her car was recovered in Phillipsburg.” In 1997, Wolbert was also wanted in connection with a bank robbery. Could Frey and Wolbert have carjacked Robert Freeman Sr in a similar fashion, but Freeman chose to fight them (and lost) instead? 

In 1996, Frey was arrested with Brian Gruhler of Easton for stealing cash from coats and the coats themselves at a Phillipsburg dry cleaner. Although this was four years after the murder, it oddly stands out because Freeman had money stolen from his jacket on the last day he was seen alive, and the leather jacket he wore that day was never recovered (presumably stolen as well). For good measure, Gruhler’s criminal record includes weapons and drugs charges as well as domestic assault and death threats. 

Did Freeman Know His Killers?

And if that’s not enough, a man named Donald O’Grady is also imprisoned for committing that 2006 robbery and murder with Frey, although he doesn’t seem to have as long a rap sheet as some of Frey’s other co-criminals. 

Police also theorized that Robert Freeman Sr knew his killers. Frey and his associates are lifelong Lehigh Valley locals, familiar with the area where Freeman was killed and frequent travelers of the places Freeman lived and passed his time. We know too that Frey and some of these others are capable of similar crimes. But since ability and feasibility don’t translate to motive, let alone evidence, there are other theories to keep in mind. 

Drug Scene and Robberies 

We can’t overlook the fact that there were numerous drug busts at the Square Bar and Easton downtown in the early 1990s. While Robert Freeman Sr was known to be “strongly opposed to drug use,” the locations where such activity occurred were some of his “favorite haunts,” and his acquaintances were involved in that lifestyle. Consider Freeman’s girlfriend who lent his car to someone for a drug deal, and his friend who had a “known prostitute” over who stole money from Freeman during the visit. 

Police leaned heavily into their robbery gone wrong theory, especially since Freeman had already been robbed earlier that afternoon and therefore had nothing “to really give up” if held up. That might enrage someone enough to kill him or try to get something more out of the attack. Adding to a robbery motive, police never recovered all his personal items, including valuables like “his leather jacket and some of his jewelry.” 

It’s also possible that after Mary Ann Pearce was investigated and charged for drug possession as a result of Freeman’s report, that she or an accomplice (perhaps her pimp) sought retribution. That, or they thought they might be able to get more cash and valuables than what she had already stolen from him. 

Mistaken Identity and Motorcycle Clubs

Police also tossed around some mistaken identity theories, although they admitted these were unlikely given Freeman’s noticeably small stature. His son, a junior, was arrested for drug dealing, and someone out for Junior might have accidentally attacked Senior instead. The Firebird comes back into play here as the New York City drug dealer might have been seeking the buyer who borrowed it from Freeman’s girlfriend. If they found the car but knew Freeman wasn’t the person they were after, could the situation still have escalated to murder? 

One more theory to consider is Freeman’s affiliation with the Golden Arrow Motorcycle Club. Although Golden Arrows were not well known as a particularly criminal element, other violent motorcycle clubs had active membership in the Lehigh Valley. Could this have been an act of club rivalry? We would be foolish to ignore that Freeman was a black man in a predominantly white community, and some motorcycle clubs are known for their white supremacist values. Could racism have combined with the type of crowd Freeman mingled in to make him a target of deadly violence? 

Thirty Years of Fading Hope

A grand jury nearly heard Freeman’s case both in 1999 and 2010, but didn’t, in 2010 specifically because of “newer, more pressing cases.” Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli has assured the family and the public that Freeman’s unsolved homicide is still an active case. While he did present it to a grand jury in both 2012 and 2014, there is no new information, suspects, or charges. 

Within the last decade, authorities have broached the idea of submitting Freeman’s case evidence for DNA testing. Given the violent nature of the crime, multiple crime scenes, and era when this crime took place, it seems more likely than with many other unsolved cases that viable DNA could be found if police properly collected and preserved the evidence. There may also be some weapon or other scientific analysis, like tire tracks on or near the body, that could open new investigative doors. Beyond all of that, it feels impossible for no one out and about that night to have seen something – perhaps they haven’t come forward to police with what they know? 

As distant as resolution may seem in a case like this, we not only continue to hope for it, but also to hope for it to come in time for Rita and the rest of Freeman’s loved ones to enjoy it. 

This episode sponsored by Manscape.

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