In February 2014, Samira Frasch, a French model of Madagascar ancestry, was discovered dead at the bottom of her Tallahassee mansion’s pool. Although the crime scene made Samira’s death seem accidental, later autopsies proved that she died as a result of a combination of blunt force injuries to the head and drowning.
A three-year inquiry into the model’s murder provided light on the events that unfolded in the hours leading up to her killing by her estranged husband, Adam Frasch. The murder of Samira Frasch will be discussed on Wednesday’s episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered. The summary for the episode titled At the Bottom of the Pool reads:
“When a model and aspiring YouTube sensation is discovered dead, authorities interview her husband to see if he has any answers.”
The episode will run on Oxygen on February 15, 2023 at 8 p.m. ET.
The autopsy report on Samira Frasch, the testimony of Adam’s cellmate, and other information about the case
1) A handyman discovered Samira’s corpse in the pool.
Gerald Gardner, a handyman, discovered Samira Frasch’s corpse at the bottom of her backyard pool in Tallahassee’s gated Golden Eagle community. He allegedly discovered the corpse just before 11 a.m. Samira was unresponsive, laying inside the pool with just a leopard print robe knotted around her waist. Gerald then contacted the authorities to report the murder and expressed his aversion to removing Samira’s corpse from the pool.
2) The autopsy report on Samira Frasch
At first, it looked like Samira had slipped and fallen into the pool, maybe while chasing her dog, who was discovered nearby. According to Oxygen, police determined that the circumstances at the scene were inconsistent with that premise following closer scrutiny. Although a hose was located partly buried in the water with one of Samira’s shoes tucked below, it seemed to be contrived. Authorities were also perplexed as to how the ankle strap sandals could have slipped off so simply.
An autopsy determined that Samira died as a result of a combination of drowning and blunt force injuries to the head. Furthermore, the victim’s friends and relatives notified authorities that she was unable to swim.
3) Adam Frasch was there at the residence a few hours before her corpse was discovered.
According to sources, Samira’s estranged husband, Adam Frasch, spent the night before the murder at the residence. He departed the following morning at 8 a.m., driving his two young kids to Panama City Beach in a rented GMC Yukon. Three hours later, her corpse was found.
Eyewitnesses claimed to have spotted someone like Samira on the premises after Adam departed with their children. He was detained, however, for disobeying a court order that granted Samira exclusive temporary custody of their kids. At the time of the assault, the couple was in the process of divorcing. Authorities reportedly observed a scrape beneath Adam’s eye during the arrest.
4) On the night before the murder, Samira and Adam fought.
Samira, according to Adam Frasch, was a violent drinker who drank two bottles of champagne the night before her corpse was discovered in the pool. However, a toxicology check revealed that she had no evidence of alcohol in her system. That night, the pair allegedly clashed when Samira discovered an intimate video of Adam with an ex-girlfriend. Furthermore, he was allegedly having many relationships at the time.
The couple was going through a bitter divorce and custody fight, with Samira Frasch possibly receiving custody of their girls, home ownership, and alimony.
5) At Adam Frasch’s trial, his cellmate testified, providing facts of Samira Frasch’s murder.
One of Adams’ cell mates, Dale Folsom, testified during his trial, stating that the father-of-two gave facts of the murder to him. Frasch reportedly assaulted Samira Frasch in the head with a golf club before shoving her into the pool, him. He said that it was an accident and that Adam had no intention of killing her.
According to The Tallahassee Democrat, officials later discovered Samira’s DNA on a golf club at their residence. However, the medical examiner stated that the club in issue did not cause the victim’s head injuries.
