Former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Lance Mason served nine months for beating his wife in 2014. Saturday he was arrested for the stabbing death of the same woman, Aisha Fraser Mason. She filed for divorce two days after the 2014 beating according to Newsweek, but the divorce was not yet final at the time of her death. She had been a teacher for 20 years and was currently working as a sixth-grade teacher at Woodbury Elementary School in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Shaker Heights Police Commander John Cold explained how Saturday’s events unfolded.
“At approximately 9:33 a.m., Shaker Heights Police responded to the 17000 block of Chagrin Blvd. for a domestic dispute. At that time, one of our officers was injured by the suspect and that suspect and the officer were taken for medical treatment. We have an ongoing investigation and we’ll probably be here for quite some time.”
The domestic violence incident that took place in 2014 while Lance and Aisha Mason were traveling home from a funeral in their car with their children who were 6-years-old and 4-years-old at the time. Lance Mason banged his wife’s head against the dashboard 20 times, bit her face, and struck her in the head while the children watched from the backseat. Aisha tried to escape the car and ended up on the ground where her husband continued to beat her until he got in the car and drove off, leaving her alone. Aisha Mason required reconstructive surgery due to her injuries that included a broken orbital bone. In 2015, Lance Mason pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault and domestic violence. He served nine months of a two-year sentence for that crime and was removed from his position as judge. His wife filed and won a civil suit that awarded her $150,000 in damages following her husband’s attack.
Lance Mason previously served nine months in prison after pleading guilty to violently assaulting Aisha Fraser in front of their children in 2014.https://t.co/4WOhcLUxwh
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) November 18, 2018
Lance Mason was employed as the director of minority business administration in Cleveland at the time of his alleged crime Saturday. City officials said that he was fired immediately upon their becoming aware of his Saturday arrest.
Police conducted a search of the Masons home following Lance’s 2014 arrest. That search resulted in the discovery of smoke grenades, semi-automatic rifles, a sword, a bulletproof vest, and 2,500 rounds of ammunition. He was hired by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson upon his release from jail. The mayor expressed his “deepest condolences” to Aisha’s family following Saturday’s crime, “especially to her children.”
Interim Shaker Heights Superintendent Stephen M. Wilkins expressed the grief of those who worked with and knew Aisha Mason.
“She touched so many of our children’s lives and will be deeply missed. Her loss is unexpected and the impact of this news on our entire school community is unimaginable and profound.”
The Masons’ two daughters are students in the Shaker Heights school system.