A 31-year-old mother reported missing on Dec. 4 was found dead inside her car behind a church along Sanders Avenue on Thursday morning, prompting a homicide investigation that led to an arrest less than 24 hours later, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
Detectives identified the victim as Frezja Matisse Baker, who family members last saw after she dropped off her young son at his grandparents’ home the night she disappeared. Officers located her gray-blue 2004 Honda Accord on Dec. 11 on church property at Sanders Avenue and Campus Street, off Beatties Ford Road. By Friday, police said they had charged 38-year-old Lorenza Thomas Inman Jr. in Baker’s death. The discovery ended a weeklong search that drew relatives and friends to west Charlotte streets, where they posted fliers and asked businesses for camera footage as concern mounted that Baker was in danger.
Police said patrol officers were called just after 9:30 a.m. Thursday for a welfare check on a vehicle behind the church. Paramedics confirmed a woman was dead inside; investigators later identified her as Baker. The area behind the building was taped off while crime-scene technicians processed the sedan and collected evidence. Officers canvassed nearby blocks for surveillance video and witnesses who might have seen the car arrive. Family members who had reported Baker missing met with detectives at the scene. “We knew something was wrong the moment her messages stopped going through,” said Peaches Johnson, a close friend who had been sharing missing-person posts online.
In the days before the discovery, police circulated images of Baker at a Mobil gas station on LaSalle Street the night of Dec. 4, a mile and a half from where her car was ultimately found. Relatives said Baker called her brother around 10:30 p.m. that night and said she was about an hour away; she did not make it home. Loved ones told reporters she had recently been seen with a man they described as an acquaintance. “She always checked on her son every night,” her brother, Fred Baker, said. “For her not to call was not like her.” Detectives declined to discuss a possible motive but said they were pursuing leads developed from video and interviews.
On Friday, police said they obtained warrants and charged Inman with murder in connection with Baker’s death. Authorities said Inman was identified as a suspect through investigative leads gathered after the car was found and following interviews with people who had seen Baker in the hours before she vanished. Officers did not release the cause and manner of death, which remain with the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner pending autopsy and toxicology results. Investigators also did not specify when Baker died or how long the car sat behind the church before someone called police.
The corner where the sedan was found sits along a residential stretch of west Charlotte not far from Beatties Ford Road, an area with several small churches and community centers. On Thursday afternoon, mourners placed flowers near the parking area as officers stood by crime-scene tape behind the sanctuary building. The church, which neighbors described as used intermittently, stayed closed as police worked under overcast skies. Residents said they noticed the car earlier in the week but did not initially view it as suspicious. The vehicle bore temporary South Carolina plates, according to family and previous police alerts.
Baker’s disappearance drew quick attention from local outlets and community groups that have tracked cases of missing women in the city. Friends and family organized small search teams and checked common routes between the grandparents’ home and Baker’s residence. Police asked area businesses along LaSalle Street, Beatties Ford Road and adjoining side streets to preserve footage from Dec. 4 into Dec. 5. Detectives said they are still building a full timeline from receipts, phone records and cameras that might show when and where Baker traveled after the gas station stop.
As the investigation proceeds, detectives said they are continuing to interview witnesses and analyze evidence taken from the car and surrounding lot. Inman, who was taken into custody Friday, is expected to make an initial court appearance this week. Prosecutors with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office will review the case file as lab results return and determine any additional charges. Police said they will release further updates after the medical examiner’s findings and once court documents outlining probable cause are available.
Family and neighbors described Baker as devoted to her child and optimistic about the holidays. “She was the one who always kept in touch,” Johnson said. “She didn’t go anywhere without checking on her boy.” By weekend, a small memorial grew near the church’s back lot: candles in glass jars, a few balloons and handwritten notes taped to a fence. Drivers slowed as they passed, and several people stopped to ask officers whether the area had reopened.
As of Sunday evening, police said the homicide case remains active. The medical examiner has not released a cause of death, and investigators did not announce any other suspects. A court docket is expected to list Inman’s first appearance date early this week, followed by the setting of a probable-cause hearing. Detectives said they will continue to gather video and records that could clarify Baker’s final movements the night of Dec. 4.
Author note: Last updated December 15, 2025.