'Worst Roommate Ever' Season 2: Where is Tammy Lyn Fritz now? Inside a diabolical plan to kill roommate
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO: Tammy Lyn Fritz from 'Worst Roommate Ever' Season 2 was charged with trying to assassinate James 'Bo' Bowden in May 2014. She insisted on her innocence and refuted all the accusations, but the state's substantial evidence turned the case against her.
She was found guilty on two charges of first-degree murder attempt, two counts of first-degree murder solicitation, and one count of first-degree murder conspiracy. Tammy had paid her pals Sean Lagoe and Michelle Heaston to beat Bo that August 2009 night, so they were also charged.
Tammy, who is currently 58 years old, received a 48-year jail term. She is being held at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility at the moment, and her projected parole hearing is in August 2034.
She has kept in touch with her son, Christian Fritz, who gives her occasional calls, but it will take time for them to mend their connection.
Who is Tammy Lyn Fritz from 'Worst Roommate Ever' Season 2?
Bo was looking for a steady place to live after leaving the Army, and Tammy, his friend's wife, gave him a place to stay in December 2002. At first, everything appeared normal, but James often had moments of confusion and disorientation.
His room burned down once, and he was badly battered while inebriated once more. These incidents are detailed in Netflix's 'Worst Roommate Ever' episode, 'Burning Down the House', which also shows how the police came to the conclusion that Tammy had been plotting Bo's death.
The episode also explores her reasons and her previous purported lies in detail.
What happened to Tammy Fritz's husband Richard Fritz Jr?
After a brief romance, Tammy and Richard Fritz Jr decided to get married in 1994. Many family members expressed concern about the couple's rapid marriage, but everything appeared OK as long as they were pleased and everything went well for them.
Christian, their new child, won their hearts. The couple settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado, while Richard was serving overseas with the Army.
Tammy and Richard's relationship started to deteriorate in the late 1990s. They were at odds all the time, and although Richard provided for all of Tammy's requirements, Richard's relatives said that Tammy was too demanding.
Richard tragically passed away abruptly on June 18, 2001, from an acute attack of strep throat, just as the couple was about to file for divorce. His demise was completely unexplained.
Soon after, in order to support herself and their child, Tammy began selling off his assets and utilizing the money from his insurance.
Tammy Fritz tried to cash in on roommate James 'Bo' Bowden's life
Tammy felt it would be best for Bo, Richard's Army buddy, to move in with her and Christian as their roommate after learning that he was seeking a place to stay. It looked like the perfect scenario for Bo.
On December 23, 2002, he moved in after going through a lot. He developed a close friendship with Tammy and became Christian's brother.
Bo frequently went out with Tammy and her pals, and it seemed like a chance for him to start again. But in August 2004, after spending the night drinking at home with her, he had to be brought to the hospital because he felt quite sick after just one drink.
He wrote it down as a one-time event and had no unique suspicions at the time. However, following another event in 2005, his viewpoint shifted.
Bo went out drinking with Tammy and her pals on June 30, 2005, and as soon as he got home, he passed out. There was a strong smoke smell coming from his room as he woke up.
Fortunately, he was spared when he swiftly fled. He left the home to recover his composure after this episode.
He continued to communicate with Tammy, but they did not spend much time together. She became dependent on strong narcotics in the interim.
She started hanging around with two people, Sean and Michelle, and frequently abandoned Christian to fend for himself. Bo made the decision to go back to Alaska in 2009 because he thought his drinking had gotten out of hand.
On August 3, 2009, he said his final goodbyes to Tammy. When Bo got home, he didn't open the door for Christian when he came the next morning to say goodbye.
Bo was badly beaten when the small child entered the room, and he was rushed to the hospital right away. At first, the medical professionals thought he had fallen while drunk.
But a closer look at his wounds showed that he had been the target of a deadly attempt.
Who are Sean Lagoe and Michelle Heaston?
In the previously mentioned episode, Tammy first encountered Sean and Michelle on the streets of Colorado Springs, Colorado, somewhere in the early summer of 2009. This couple had nothing to their names—no job, no house, no car, and no money. So when she allegedly offered them a residence in her house in exchange for acting as her "henchmen" while she committed financial crime by using identity theft or writing bad checks at her employment, they accepted.
However, according to Christian, the former's son, who was in the seventh grade at the time, the group reportedly spent a lot of time doing drugs in the bedroom he had been forced out of so they could remain permanently.
Furthermore, Christian can still clearly recall that "Michelle often would play with me. She had two children [of her own]. She was very nice. Sean, on the other hand, a very angry, aggressive man."
His mother never really appeared to care or even pay attention, and by his reports, there were instances when the latter even threatened to kill him over the smallest of things.
He went on, "I knew Sean had his own firearm. One time, I hit the car alarm while he was looking through something [in the trunk]. He panicked and hit his head. He pulled out a golf club and said he’d beat me to death. He [once] threatened to cut my throat from ear to ear, too."
Then, once Bo, Tammy's former roommate and buddy, decided to move to Alaska to be closer to his parents, she decided to plot his murder in order to collect on his life insurance. In actuality, she was the one who initially applied for it back when they were still living together, and she later paid all the premiums after designating herself as the only beneficiary in the event that anything occurred, all on the false pretense that they were romantically linked.
That being said, Tammy had allegedly made many unsuccessful attempts to murder Bo since 2005, only to get desperate in early August when he was about to board his aircraft for the third attempt. She asked Sean and Michelle to assist her with the task.
It seems that the three of them stormed into Bo's flat just hours before his departure, after spending the previous evening drinking together as a goodbye, except that only one of them seriously injured Bo with a baseball bat.
Tammy Lyn Fritz was taken in for financial fraud
Tammy's employment has previously resulted in her being under investigation by the police for financial fraud and writing fraudulent checks. They found out that ever since Bo moved into her home, she had taken up a life insurance policy in his name and been paying the premiums.
Tammy had designated herself as the only beneficiary using the paperwork he had in her safe. It became clear that she was working on a bigger, darker scheme.
The rest of her family claimed that she could have been involved in Richard's death as well, and the police thought that she was the one who set fire to his chamber.
Where are Sean Lagoe and Michelle Heaston now?
It took some time for investigators to even start investigating the injuries Bo had incurred because they were first thought to be unintentional. Fortunately, once they did, they were able to immediately identify their suspects as Tammy, Sean, and Michelle because of the life insurance policy.
Consequently, they were indicted in May 2014 on counts of attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder; Tammy was also charged with solicitation.
Ultimately, on March 12, 2015, Sean, then 43 years old, entered a guilty plea to attempted first-degree murder, while Michelle, then 41, was permitted to enter a guilty plea to the lower charge of first-degree burglary because of her minimal involvement. The 49-year-old Tammy was then found guilty on May 13, 2015, of one crime of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two charges of solicitation of first-degree murder based on the testimony provided by them.
As a result, Sean was sentenced to 26 years in jail with equivalent parole conditions, while Michelle was given a 15-year suspended sentence with five years of obligatory parole. However, Tammy was given a total sentence of 48 years, meaning that even though her accomplices are free, she is still behind bars in the Denver Women's Correctional Facility at the age of 48.
As far as we can determine, 52-year-old Sean is still under supervision as an early-release parolee out of Colorado, while 50-year-old Michelle is reportedly living a peaceful life away from the spotlight. His term will end permanently on July 9, 2028, according to Department of Correction data, which suggests he was freed about that same time in 2023.
Stream Season 1 and 2 of 'Worst Roommate Ever' on Netflix