Mike and Paula Fredette thought it would be fun to go camping over the weekend with good friends at a cottage along the Salmon River in the Oswego County town of Richland.

They brought their 3-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter, and spent most of Saturday on a boat with longtime friends Bob and Nancy King and their family.

Sunday, they planned to attend a birthday party for Nancy King's daughter, who just turned 10.

But the weekend ended violently early Sunday when Mike Fredette started beating his childhood friend, Bob King, who died a short time later.

State police Sunday charged Michael J. Fredette, 44, of 427 Nine Mile Point Road, Scriba, with first-degree manslaughter, a felony, accusing him of causing the death of Robert S. "Bob" King, 36, of 5 Kimberly Lane, Apt. 326, Mexico.

Fredette gave police a three-page statement about the events leading up to the beating, and how he left the cottage without realizing his best friend had died.

The two families were staying overnight at Bob King's in-laws' cottage at Lot 25, Pine Grove Road, Richland.

Fredette told investigators his wife had gone downstairs to use the bathroom. When she didn't return after a while, he went to check on her. That's when Fredette said he saw his wife leaving the bathroom without any pants on.

Fredette told police he asked his wife what she was doing. She didn't respond.

Fredette told police he found Bob hiding behind the bathroom door in his underwear. Fredette said he asked his friend for an explanation.

"Bobby did not say anything at first," Fredette told state police investigators. "I asked Bobby a second time what was going on. I just tried to get some explanation. Bobby then tells me that he was the worst kind of friend."

Enraged, Fredette told police he pushed his friend and started beating him.

"Bobby put his hands up. I was so mad and so upset. I hit Bobby with my fists. I hit him fast and furious. I was mad and I just kind of lost it," Fredette told state police.

"I continued to hit Bobby in the head and ribs. I hit him with both my hands. I hit him repeatedly," he said. "Bobby fell onto the couch while I was hitting him. I hit him while he was falling to the couch. In all, I probably hit Bobby 15 or 20 times."

Fredette told investigators that he never intended to kill his friend; he only wanted to hurt him.

"I was hurt for what I saw and whatever went on in the bathroom. I was upset and lost my temper," he explained.

When Bob stopped resisting, Fredette said he stopped hitting.

Nancy King, in an interview with The Post-Standard, said she was upstairs sleeping until her 8-month-old daughter woke up to some noise.

"I heard shouting after a while, but the confrontation was already done," Nancy King said. "By the time I got downstairs, he was unconscious."

Nancy King said she made sure her husband's heart was still beating. It was, so she walked outside and asked Fredette what was going on.

Fredette had already put his 3-year-old son in his truck and was about to drive away.

"I told her to go inside and ask, as I was too upset to discuss the situation," Fredette said in a statement to police.

Fredette drove home, put his son to bed and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Nancy King said she went back inside the cottage and checked on her husband on the couch.

"I couldn't get him up. I listened for a heartbeat again," she said. "I didn't hear his heart beating anymore."

Paula Fredette held the Kings' infant while Nancy King performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, King said.

"I was hysterical," King said.

King pulled her husband off the living room couch and called 911 about 1:45 a.m. while doing CPR.

"I worked on him for a half an hour, doing the chest compressions," she said. "He never woke up again."

Northern Oswego County Ambulance crews took Bob King to Oswego Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Paula Fredette called her husband a short time later.

"(She) told me that she thought I killed Bobby," Mike Fredette told police. "My wife tends to be like a drama queen. I replied to Paula, 'Yea, right. I will talk to you tomorrow.' I then hung the phone up."

Fredette said he didn't take his wife's call seriously -- until another call woke him up Sunday morning. It was the state police.

He then learned it was true: His best friend was dead.

Fredette and King both grew up on Nine Mile Point Road in Scriba, and they both attended Mexico High School, Nancy King said.

Mike Fredette told investigators he and his wife of 10 years had marital problems. About four years ago, he and Paula split up and moved to separate homes for a couple of weeks.

"During this time, I had a brief affair with Nancy, and Bobby had a brief affair with Paula," Fredette told state police. "Things just happened." At the time, Fredette said, Nancy was dating Bobby.

"We all eventually decided that it was best for all of us to get back together with our respective partners," Fredette said. "We did it for each (other) and for the kids. We made mistakes. We worked through our mistakes and we worked things out. There was no bad feelings."

An autopsy was scheduled Sunday to determine the exact cause of death.

Meanwhile, Fredette was arraigned in Richland Town Court. He is scheduled to reappear in court Aug. 11. He was later released from the Oswego County jail on $5,000 bail, a jail spokeswoman said.

www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/update_oswego_man_tells_why_he.html


When I heard the "Man beats best friend to death on vacation" I knew someone was fooling around with someone's wife, but this was dumber than I thought.

The part where the dead guy's wife sees her husband has been beaten unconscious by her ex lover and decides to go out to have a heart to heart with the ex lover before bothering to call any medical assistance for the husband is touching.

Quoted: If it wasn't for the past history of the two couples sleeping around, I'd have a hard time agreeing with a felony charge for the guy. Catch someone in the act or just finished fucking your wife, you ought to get a free pass.

I think morally you lose the right to beat a guy do death for schtooping your wife if you've schtooped his wife