The family and friends of a gay yoga instructor found dead in Phoenix, Arizona are speaking out against the investigators' decision to abandon the case.
Marcus Freiberger, 45, was found dead and without clothes in March in a rock quarry about six miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. His cause of death was declared to be "undetermined" in a May autopsy report, which his friends and family now say they were only informed of when the media covered it.
Also unbeknownst to them, the Phoenix Police Department had closed the case before the results of the autopsy were even made public. Christopher Krcmarik, Freiberger’s ex-partner, told Arizona queer media outlet LOOKOUT that those close to him believe that law enforcement did not take Freiberger's death seriously, saying, "at this point, we’re left to the closure we give ourselves."
“I generally felt like law enforcement seemed very cavalier about the situation,” Krcmarik said. “They didn’t seem to take it very seriously, and there wasn’t much sense of urgency. Marcus’ father actually told me the first detective assigned to the case implied Marcus was ‘just another gay man’ and pointed to his past drug use."
Freiberger was last seen at a parking garage near Second Avenue and Van Buren Street on February 21. His family said that he was planning to meet a blind date, but Krcmarik later suspected something was wrong when he found the small dog they had adopted left alone and unfed in Freiberger's apartment, which Krcmarik told LOOKOUT Freiberger would never do.
Freiberger's family made the decision to report him missing two weeks later on March 14. Krcmarik said they were not concerned at first, as Freiberger would often disappear for days at a time and often had phone troubles. Freiberger had also struggled with methamphetamine addiction, and had the substance in his system when he died, according to the toxicology report.
Officers responded to a call at a rock quarry near 15th Avenue and Broadway Road on March 19, where they discovered a body which was later identified as Freiberger using fingerprints. The final autopsy showed he had suffered blunt force trauma to the head, ankle, and ribs, but that his death could not conclusively be ruled accidental, self-inflicted, or intentional by another person.
Several theories about Freiberger's death have been proposed, according to the outlet, including suggestions that he was catfished on a dating app such as Grindr or the victim of a possible hate crime. The person he was meeting with has not been identified, and there is no evidence that he used dating apps or that he was targeted for being gay.
Freiberger was the founder and owner of Strong Roofing, which had its license revoked in September by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, though the reason was not made public. Some commenters online have accused the company of scamming them, though there is no evidence that was a factor in his death.
Krcmarik told LOOKOUT that Freiberger's dream was not to be a contractor, but to be a yoga therapist, which he had achieved shortly before his death. One of Freiberger's last posts on Instagram was made in December celebrating the milestone.
"My life had been flip turned upside down over the last year and a half, without this journey I have no idea if I would be around anymore. I don’t say that lightly, I say that with all seriousness," he wrote. "This journey is forcing me to go inward to find my answers, my peace, and to heal. I am so grateful for my life and the peace this journey brings allowing me to be calm in my storm. Today the storm isn’t so violent ... just continues to bring me opportunities to be and do better. I’m not perfect, I’m a hell of a lot better than I was."
This article originally appeared on Advocate: A gay Arizona man's death is still unsolved, but Phoenix police closed the case: report
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