Verdict: Cheltenham man convicted of intentional murders of wife and mother-in-law

Frederick Lee Clea sentenced to life imprisonment

NORRISTOWN » A 59-year-old Cheltenham man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a judge convicted him of charges he intentionally killed his wife and mother-in-law during an argument in their home.

“By committing the murders of your mother-in-law and your wife, the love, hopes and dreams of so many people were destroyed. Your conduct at that time was horrific. Two lives lost. So many others painfully injured,” Montgomery County Judge Gary S. Silow addressed convicted killer Frederick Lee Clea before imposing two life prison terms.

Silow, who called the crime “barbaric,” convicted Clea of two counts of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, and a charge of possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the July 25, 2020, fatal shootings of his wife, Latiya, 41, and his mother-in-law, Mekenda Saunders, 75, inside their home in the 7700 block of Green Valley Road in the Wyncote section of the township.

Clea previously waived his right to a jury trial and allowed Silow to act as the sole fact-finder during the two-day non-jury trial.

With his verdict, Silow determined Clea acted with a specific intent to kill. The judge rejected a defense argument that Clea committed voluntary manslaughter, a lesser degree of homicide that occurs when a person acts under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation.

Clea, his voice quivering with emotion at times, reacted to the convictions with a rambling speech during which he read two poems he wrote and continued to profess his love for the victims and his two children, who were 5 and

10 when they witnessed the shootings.

“This is a misfortune. I can’t believe this has happened. I’m a man full of compassion. My heart is forever broken for our family and for my children,” said Clea, adding he understands if the victims’ relatives cannot forgive him.

Chianara Saunders, granddaughter of Mekenda and niece of Latiya, said she feels “justice was served.”

“I just don’t think I could forgive this. I will forever be heartbroken over this,” Chianara Saunders addressed Clea in court.

Joseph Saunders, brother of Latiya, came to court with photos of the victims that he turned over to court officials to leave with Clea, representing his final communication with the man.

“After today, I no longer know Fred Clea,” Joseph Saunders said.

During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Allison M. Ruth and co-prosecutor Gabriella T. Soreth argued Clea had the specific intent to kill, a requirement of first-degree murder, when he “executed” his wife and his mother-in-law during an argument about a missing magazine to his handgun.

“It’s horrifying. It’s horrifying that (Clea’s children) had to witness the execution of their grandmother, the execution of their mother, by their father,” Ruth said during her closing statement to the judge.

“This was not serious provocation. This was first-degree murder. This is an intentional killing, no doubt. (Intent) can happen quickly, in a fraction of a second,” argued Ruth, adding the intent to kill can be inferred by Clea’s using a deadly weapon on a vital part of the body.

An autopsy determined Latiya Clea sustained five gunshot wounds to the chest, right leg, right hip and left thigh, according to testimony. Saunders suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.

Clea’s daughter, now 11, stepped into the witness box on Tuesday with a comfort dog by her side and testified she witnessed the shootings after which her father ushered her and her younger brother to a family room, hugged them and told them he loved them.

While defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III agreed the case is not a whodunit, he suggested Clea did not act with a specific intent to kill nor plan the killings, but acted in a “heat of passion” that is more akin to a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Egan said whether it was due to fatigue, stress or COVID lockdowns, Clea, a structured, regimented man, “was in a different state of mind” on that Saturday afternoon that destroyed the family’s otherwise idyllic lifestyle.

“He was very angry. The argument kept going. He has simply lost his mind. He is shooting two of the people he loved most in life. His thinking is as mixed up as it possibly can be for him,” Egan argued.

“Was it in the heat of passion? No doubt. Was it sudden? No doubt about it,” Egan continued. “This man went berserk. This was a spontaneous killing…not premeditated.”

When he testified, Clea claimed he did not remember shooting the victims. He suggested he suffered a blackout and a “chemical malfunction” related to his medications.

The investigation began at 12:09 p.m. July 25, when Cheltenham police were dispatched to the Green Valley Road residence for a 911 call with an open line and the sound of a female yelling, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and Cheltenham Detective Matthew Gonglik.

During the 911 recording, Latiya’s voice can be heard stating, “Why did you do that? Why did you do that…look at my leg, look at my leg,” according to the criminal complaint.

An apparent gunshot was heard 20 seconds into the call followed by three additional gunshots 32 seconds into the call, detectives alleged.

When police arrived at the home Clea opened the door and stated to officers that he “went too far” and that he “shot them,” according to the arrest affidavit.

When police entered the home, they found Latiya Clea and Saunders deceased in the living room of the residence. Police observed a semiautomatic handgun setting on a desk, detectives alleged.

During an interview by detectives, Clea confessed to killing the women after arguing with his wife about a misplaced magazine to his firearm, according to the criminal complaint.

“Clea stated he began arguing with Latiya in their bedroom when he could not locate a loaded magazine to his firearm and recalled her having possession of it the night before,” Wittenberger and Gonglik alleged in the arrest affidavit. “During this argument, Latiya left the bedroom and proceeded to the downstairs kitchen where she and her mother were putting away groceries.”

Clea told detectives he “ransacked” his bedroom searching for the magazine and then went downstairs where he sat on the stairs with his loaded 9mm handgun, according to court papers.

“Clea stated he continued arguing with his wife when he ‘just started shooting,’” Wittenberger and Gonglik wrote in the criminal complaint. “Clea informed investigators that prior to him shooting, there had been no physical altercation and that his wife and motherin-law ‘did nothing wrong.’ Clea also informed investigators his mother-in-law had not been participating in the argument.”

During the investigation, detectives recovered a Glock model 9mm semiautomatic handgun and they recovered eight fired 9mm cartridge casings at the scene, according to testimony.

Clea told investigators he purchased the handgun earlier in 2020 but did not recall the date.

Township police said they had responded to the Clea residence for alleged domestic-related incidents between Clea and his wife on two previous occasions, Dec. 3, 2017, and Dec. 24, 2019.

According to Times Herald archives, Clea, once affectionately known as “Coach Fred,” previously ran a youth boxing program at the former Greater Norristown Police Athletic League. In May 2019, Clea gave an impassioned speech to Norristown Borough Council asking for help to restart the program. At the time, Clea said his onetime boxing program also included mentoring.

Frederick Lee Clea