DRUGS, MURDER CREATE FAMILY TURMOIL

Mart Freeman died Jan. 20, 2001. He was born Jan. 8, 1972. Ironically, his
first days on earth and his last day on earth were on the same street --
Wadsworth Circle.

On the day Mart Freeman was born, his parents, Dora and Howard Freeman,
were living just a few hundred yards from the site where their son died 29
years later.

Mart Freeman was murdered on Jan. 20, a year ago come Sunday, and his
murder, the details of his death and what his parents believe has been a
lack of justice have torn the family apart.

"This has been one hell of a month," Dora Freeman said Thursday. "Mart's
birthday was on the eighth and he was killed on the 20th."

The Freemans are just living day to day, trying to cope. Both say they
don't understand why one man is in jail for the crime and others involved
are still out on the streets.

Christopher Oliver, 29, is the only person Oak Ridge police have officially
charged in the murder of Mart Freeman.

Terrance Anthony, 33, was charged along with Oliver last February but
Assistant District Attorney General Jan Hicks dismissed the murder warrant
and took the case to a grand jury.

Because of that action, Anthony's attorney, District Public Defender Tom
Marshall, cried foul and had the indictment against his client dismissed also.

Marshall contends that because Anthony was served with a warrant for
murder, he was entitled by law to have a preliminary hearing. Criminal
Court Judge James B. "Buddy" Scott agreed with Marshall and dismissed the
indictment.

Anthony remains free while Oliver remains in the Anderson County jail under
$500,000 bond.

"Anthony is presumed innocent," said Hicks. "He has not been charged in
this offense."

Hicks said the district attorney general's office could have appealed
Scott's decision but chose not to take action.

A status hearing and a deadline for attorneys to set other court schedules
is to be held Jan. 25 in Criminal Court.

"We (the DA's office) have just finished with discovery and released our
discovery evidence to Oliver's attorneys," Hicks said. "A plea or trial
date should be announced on Jan. 25."

"I would like to see Oliver get life, if not death," said Dora Freeman.
"But death won't do any good. He'd get off easy."

But in talking about her sorrow and the loss of her son, she said, "I don't
want anyone to hurt like I have."

Mart Freeman's body was found by police about 8:15 p.m. on Wadsworth
Circle. His mother's car was found parked in an on-street parking space
several feet from where his body was found. He had been shot once in the
back of the head, his throat had been slashed and he had several other stab
wounds.

Police have described the murder as a drug-related homicide but the
Freemans insist there's more to the story.

"I don't appreciate the words 'drug deal gone wrong' when the police were
behind it," Dora Freeman said. "They (police officers) are acting like they
didn't get him to work for them when they did."

Dora Freeman has said her son was addicted to drugs and had been charged by
police with drug offenses. She said police officers and Anderson County
Sheriff's Department deputies talked him into working as an informant.

"I'm about to come to the conclusion that it's not the drugs, it's the
legality of them," Howard Freeman said. "The bottom line is if they were
legal, drugs would be taxed, be in a controlled setting, and get the
criminal element out of it."

Howard Freeman said it was "all about the money."

"The so-called war on drugs is a joke," he said. "From the police
departments to the Congress, ethically and morally, they are all involved."

He said his son should have been in treatment.

"He should not have been pressured into being an informant," he said.
"Maybe when some of the big boys' sons or daughters get killed, maybe then
they would stop it."

And, both agree, drugs tear families apart. The pain is worse when drugs
cause a son's death.

Dora and Howard Freeman are currently separated. Mart Freeman's children,
Chelsea, 9, and Bryan, 8, are without their father.

Bryan won't talk about it and Chelsea is still in counseling, Dora Freeman
said.

"Those kids are tore all to pieces," she said of her grandchildren.

"I have lost everything," Howard Freeman said. "I have lost my son and now
my wife. This family is turned upside down."