In this real life “Shawshank Redemption” case, the story of Frank Freshwaters is unbelievable.
After being on the run since 1959, Freshwaters was finally tracked down in Melbourne, FL and is awaiting conviction currently on a fugitive from justice warrant. He will then be extradited to Ohio, where his 1959 charges originated. Almost 60 years ago, Freshwaters, then 21 and married, struck and killed 24-year-old Eugene Flynt with his vehicle on July 3, 1957.
After spending some time in the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Freshwaters quickly earned the trust of the authorities as a model inmate. He was soon sent to the Sandusky Honor Farm and escaped in less than a year and has since then been on the run. Freshwaters changed his name to William Cox, became a truck driver and was even earning benefits under his false identity. But the law knows no boundaries and sooner or later, they will catch up to you.
What makes this story even wilder is the fact that he earned the trust and friendship from those around him, including Shirl Cheetham, only 34 years old. She claims that she has known him for nearly 15 years, was the best man at her wedding just three years ago and her children call him “Grandpa Will!” This further shows all of us that nobody ever truly knows a person, and sometimes may never fully understand a person’s past.
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