Police Report: Lovers’ Quarrel Led to Arrest of Foxborough High School Wrestling Coach

Editor’s note: The following information was provided via public record by Wrentham District Court. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, they do not indicate conviction.

A lovers’ quarrel between Foxborough residents James Fraser and his wife is reportedly what led to the high school wrestling coach’s arrest Sunday, according to police reports.

. Fraser was arraigned in Wrentham District Court Monday and released on $2,000 cash bail, according to court documents. Fraser is due back in Wrentham District Court on May 9th for a probable cause hearing.

According to Foxborough police officer David Foscaldo’s report, the “domestic disturbance” occurred shortly before 3:43 p.m. Sunday at the Fraser residence. Fraser’s wife called emergency 911 and reported, “her husband had just tried to strangle her” and “was in the process of destroying the residence,” according to police reports.

Foscaldo said this is not the first time he has been dispatched to Fraser residence.

 “Through my employment as a Foxborough police officer, I have responded to this residence in the past in order to restore the peace,” Foscaldo said via his police report.  

Upon arrival to the residence Sunday, Foscaldo located Fraser’s wife sitting down on a rear deck of the house “distraught and visibly upset,” according to police reports. After briefly speaking with Fraser’s wife, Foscaldo entered the residence and located Fraser in the kitchen area of the property, police reports said.

“At this time, Mr. Fraser was calm/collected and he was completely under control,” Foscaldo said. “I had already removed my handcuffs from my case and I told Mr. Fraser to turn around – because I was now going to place him under arrest based on Ms. Fraser’s statements to the police. Mr. Fraser was cooperative and compliant and he instantly put his hands behind his back. Mr. Fraser was handcuffed without incident.”

As police escorted Fraser through the property he became a “little upset” of the situation, according to police reports.

“He was more sad than mad about the situation,” Foscaldo said. “He tried to tell us that [his wife] just returned home after an extended and unexplained absence from the home and her family.”

Foscaldo said Fraser’s wife later disputed that claim.

Foscaldo remained on scene after Fraser was taken into custody to speak with Fraser’s wife at the residence. During the conversation, Fraser’s wife reportedly kept apologizing to Foscaldo “over and over” and “seemed to be embarrassed by all of the commotion/negative attention,” according to police reports.

“She kept saying how she did not want things to turn out this way and emphatically insisted she had only called the police because she was scared and concerned because she claims she had actually blacked out for a short period of time,” Foscaldo said via police reports. “Her exact quote, ‘I would have never done this if I did not black out and get so scared.’”

The alleged altercation was reportedly the result of a lovers’ quarrel between the Frasers, according to police reports. Fraser’s wife told police her husband "seems to think [she] has been having an affair and over the past few weeks the two supposedly had been constantly arguing over accusations that she had not been faithful,” according to police reports.

Fraser’s wife stated “more often than not” arguments between her and her husband “get ugly” and she ends up having to stay at a friend’s house or with her father when the “infidelity topic” is brought up, according to reports.

Fraser’s wife told police her husband was “yelling and angry” prior to the incident and at some point during the alleged argument he had allegedly “placed both of his hands around her neck and her neck area,” according to police reports.

Fraser’s wife told police Fraser had allegedly “squeezed and applied pressure with his hands when they were around her neck,” police reports said. Fraser was reportedly facing his wife when the alleged incident occurred, according to police reports.

The woman described her husband’s action as a “strangle” and claims she was “dizzy” and “shaky” after the alleged incident, according to police reports. She told police the incident had occurred in the couple’s bedroom while she was making the bed.

The Frasers’ three children were reportedly home but did not witness the incident, according to police.

Fraser’s wife refused medical attention despite suffering minor injury to the left side of her neck, according to police reports. She also declined to seek an emergency restraining order.

Fraser faces domestic assault and battery and attempted murder charges following the incident. Both charges are felonies. The attempted murder charge is described as “a domestic violence related to strangulation,” according to court documents.

Fraser, according to police reports, has not “been in trouble with the law” since he was arraigned in Wrentham District Court on Aug. 28, 1986.

Following booking at the Foxborough Police Department, Fraser was advised not to contact or see his wife, according to police reports.

On Monday, Foxborough Public Schools Superintendent Debra Spinelli confirmed Fraser was the high school wrestling coach but would not confirm further on the situation.

"This is a personnel matter; as such I cannot comment further," said Spinelli.