Trending Now

Florida man, Michael Haim, sentenced to life for the 1993 murder of his wife Bonnie – His son, then three when he witnessed the killing, moved home to dig up his mother’s skull from the backyard 21 years later and make his dad pay

Posted on May 22, 2019 by konniemoments in Crime, Domestic Violence, Homicide // 1 Comment

Popular Stories

Florida man, 52, is sentenced to life for the 1993 murder of his wife after his three-year-old son witnessed the killing decades earlier
Aaron Haim now Aaron Fraser in 2014 moved home to dig up his mother’s skull from the backyard 21 years later and prove his father’s guilt
Michael Haim was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for killing his wife Bonnie
23-year-old Bonnie Haim disappeared from her Florida home in January 1993  
At three years old, their son Aaron Fraser, indicated that his dad hurt his mother, but at the time, Fraser’s claim was dismissed by law enforcement and his family 
After winning a $26.3M wrongful death suit against his dad in 2014, Fraser acquired the title deed to the property.
He discovered his mother’s skull while digging a pool in the backyard
Haim was arrested in 2015 after remains were found; he was convicted in April
Michael Haim [left] 1Michael Haim [pictured on Tuesday], has been sentenced to life in prison for the 1993 murder of his wife – five years after his son discovered her skull in the backyard of his childhood home
Michael Haim 7Michael Haim seen on trial after being accused of 1993 murder
Michael Haim 3Michael Haim seen [being escorted out of the court] was convicted last month of second-degree murder
Michael Haim [left] with his wife Bonnie Haim and their son Aaron Fraser 1Haim will live out the rest of his life in prison for the gruesome slaying of his 23-year-old wife Bonnie Haim (pictured with their son on her lap), who would have turned 50 years old on Monday
When he was three, Fraser tried to tell police that his ‘daddy hurt mommy’, but no one believed him and no physical evidence tied his father to the crime, according to the Florida Times-Union.

Even his mother’s family members did not believe him.
‘The credibility of a child is something that you have to judge in perspective,’ Robert Pasciuto, Bonnie’s father said in an 2010 episode of the true crime television series Unsolved Mysteries.  
‘He’s said a couple of things that we know were not true. “Mom’s car is in the lake.” We know her car wasn’t there. No one has asked Aaron why did you say mom’s car is at the bottom of the lake,’ Pasciuto added. 

Aaron Fraser and his father Michael Haim 1 ‘I honestly don’t feel that different than I did four years ago before I found her’ Aaron Fraser [left], said after Judge Steven Whittington handed his father [right] his sentence
Aaron also stated that “Daddy shot Mommy,” “Daddy placed Mommy in timeout,”‘ and ‘My daddy could not wake her up,’ a 2015 arrest affidavit said.
A spent shell casing found where Bonnie was buried was the same type of caliber as a rifle that Michael owned, the affidavit added.
Aaron was adopted to another family and changed his last name to Fraser as Bonnie’s disappearance remained unsolved for two decades.
Years later, he won the deed to the childhood North Jacksonville home in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against his birth father.

On December 14, 2014, Fraser begun working with his brother-in-law to demolish the swimming pool in the home’s backyard and they made the grisly discovery. 
Police gather evidence at Michael Haim's home 3Investigators would find a shell casing along with the bones that matched a rifle that was owned by Haim
Investigators would find a shell casing along with the bones that matched a rifle that was owned by Haim.
The excavator they were using cracked a slab of concrete, and Fraser attempted to break it up further with a sledgehammer breaking a water pipe.
As Fraser and his brother-in-law looked for the pipe in the dirt, that’s when they came across plastic sheeting or a bag. Fraser broke it open with his shovel and reached inside.
He told News 4 Jax that he initially thought his mother’s skull was a ‘coconut’.
Michael Haim 5History of domestic: Michael Haim [photo], was abusive to his wife and she had made plans to move into an apartment with their son while he was away on a trip
‘It looked like a coconut shell. I had it in my hand. We looked back in the hole and seen teeth,’ Fraser told police.
‘At that point in time, you could actually see the top of the eye socket. And it was like this part of the head, the top half of the head. I set it back in the hole,’ Fraser said.
Bonnie disappeared in January 1993. Her purse was found in a hotel trash bin, and her car was abandoned near the Jacksonville International Airport in Florida. 
According to the arrest affidavit, Haim was abusive to his wife and she had made plans to move into an apartment with their son while he was away on a trip.
She had secretly opened a bank account and when Haim found out about it, he made her close it. She then started giving money to a trusted friend to hold for her.
The suspect claimed his wife left their home without their son late one night in January 1993 after they had an argument about their marital problems.
He also said he went searching for his wife, although he didn’t notify law enforcement about her disappearance. 
Aaron Fraser 3At the time of the crime no one believed Fraser [photo], and no physical evidence tied his father to the crime. Last week Fraser (pictured) said he ‘always knew my mom was buried’. ‘I just didn’t know where,’ he added.
Michael Haim [left] with his wife Bonnie Haim and their son Aaron Fraser 2Victim: Bonnie Haim (holding their son, Aaron],  vanished in January 1993. Her purse was found in a hotel trash bin, and her car was abandoned near the Jacksonville International Airport in Florida
Bonnie Haim was last seen in January 1993. Her purse was later found in a hotel trash bin. Her car was abandoned near the Jacksonville International Airport in Florida.
At the time, Haim told police that his wife of five years left the home after an argument about their marriage. He was arrested in 2015 after authorities confirmed that a skull found by their son, Aaron, belonged to Bonnie
Michael Haim [left] with his wife Bonnie Haim and their son Aaron Fraser 3In 1993 Michael Haim [left] told police that his wife Bonnie [photo right with their son Aaron, aged three], left the home after an argument about their marriage. He was arrested in 2015 after authorities confirmed that a skull found by Aaron, belonged to Bonnie. The couple had been married five years at the time
Law enforcement wasn’t told about the disappearance until a maintenance worker found her purse and called police.
Haim, who had since moved to North Carolina, was arrested in 2015 after authorities confirmed that the skull belonged to Bonnie.
DNA tests confirmed the remains were those of Bonnie and a medical examiner concluded she died from a homicide ‘by unspecified means,’ according to the affidavit.
Haim had initially been called a suspect in the case, but he was never charged.
‘Michael Haim was the last known individual to have contact with victim,’ the arrest affidavit said.
It added: ‘The suspect admits that he and the victim were fighting over marital issues and that she was planning to leave and take their child.’ 
Bonnie Haim and her son Aaron Haim 3According to an arrest affidavit, Haim was abusive to his wife Bonnie,  and she had made plans to move into an apartment with their son [photo], while he was away on a trip.
Although Bonnie Haim’s son, Aaron Haim, was 3 years old when she disappeared. Police said he was the primary witness in the case.
In April 2005, Aaron Haim, who now goes by Aaron Fraser, won a $26.3 million wrongful death lawsuit against his father. At the time, his mother’s remains had not been found.
That changed in December 2014 when workers digging out an old pool in the backyard of the Dolphin Avenue home where Haim lived 22 years earlier found what appeared to be a skull.
Investigators spent at least two days sifting through the dirt for more evidence.
The man who now lives in the couple’s former home said he became curious when his dog would always bark in one part of the yard.
Weeks later, the remains were confirmed to be human. A month later, they were confirmed to be Bonnie Haim.
An arrest warrant was issued for Michael Haim on Aug. 21, 2015, and he was arrested with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service on Aug. 24.
Subsequently he wass extradited back to Jacksonville to face the murder charge.
In April a jury deliberated for about 90 minutes and found Michael Haim guilty of second-degree murder of his wife, Bonnie Haim, back in 1993.
Michael Haim [right] with his wife son Aaron Fraser 1 ‘I love my wife, and I would’ve never hurt my wife,’ Michael Haim [pictured with son Aaron] had maintained that he was not involved with his wife’s death. During his trial.
Haim had maintained that he was not involved with his wife’s death.
During his trial he even testified: ‘I love my wife, and I would’ve never hurt my wife.’
Following the sentence on Tuesday, Bonnie’s sister, Liz Peak, told Action News Jax: ‘For 26 years, we wanted justice. And now we have it. We got justice. But we don’t have Bonnie.’
Last week Fraser told the station that he ‘always knew my mom was buried’.
‘I just didn’t know where,’ he added.
Sentencing guidelines for second-degree murder in 1993 suggested seven to 22 years in prison.
Bonnie’s family had asked the judge to consider giving Haim at least 26 years for the time she has been gone while he remained free. 

1 Comment on Florida man, Michael Haim, sentenced to life for the 1993 murder of his wife Bonnie – His son, then three when he witnessed the killing, moved home to dig up his mother’s skull from the backyard 21 years later and make his dad pay

  1. Trey // April 11, 2021 at 4:45 am // Reply

    He wasn’t lying…

    They found her bones under the pool..

    “Mom’s [car] is in the lake.”

    They misunderstood “car.”

Leave a Reply

Copyright © 2023

%d bloggers like this: