The Murder Sheet: The Murder of Scott Macklem: The Guilt of Temujin Kensu: A Wife’s Story, Part One

Podcast: Murder Sheet
Episode Date: October 16, 2025
Hosts: Áine Cain (A), Kevin Greenlee (B)
Main Guests: "G" (Temujin Kensu/Fred Freeman's ex-wife, words read by her daughter Laina)
Topic: Abuse, coercion, and lived experience inside the marriage to Temujin Kensu (Fred Freeman), the convicted murderer of Scott Macklem.

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal and disturbing episode, The Murder Sheet hosts Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee present the first part of an extensive interview with "G," the former wife of Temujin Kensu (also known as Fred Freeman). Through G’s own words—read by her daughter, Laina—the episode explores her life before and during her relationship with Kensu, offering harrowing insight into the coercion, manipulation, and severe abuse she suffered. The episode serves to provide context for Kemujin Kensu's character, as experienced by an intimate partner, acknowledging the polarizing discourse regarding his guilt and personality in the Macklem murder case.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Context: Who is Temujin Kensu? (02:36–03:29)

• Kensu (Freeman) is a polarizing figure; some see him as a violent criminal, others as a misunderstood genius.
  • Quoting Kevin Greenlee:

    “If you follow the case... you'll hear that Kenzu is a violent and stupid rapist with a lifelong history of causing pain and suffering... [others say] not only is he innocent of the murder, but he is a wise and wonderful and downright gentle man...” (02:49)

• The episode seeks to cut through competing narratives by focusing on G’s first-person recollections.

Interview Methodology (04:52–05:51)

• G participated through a unique process: her daughter Laina recorded conversations; the transcript is selectively edited for clarity and trauma sensitivity.
  • “We edited a few things for clarity and for privacy... trying to be a more trauma-informed true crime podcast.” (05:08)

G’s Life Before Kensu (06:17–06:37)

• G recalls a “normal” life as a teenager in Flint, Michigan, living with her mother.
  • “My life was normal. I think I was about 16. I had friends, going to school. It was normal...” (06:22, C/G)

Meeting Fred Freeman (Kensu) and Early Impressions (06:37–08:03)

• G met Fred through mutual friends; Fred was older (about 19 or 20 when she was 16); known for his dramatic martial arts and ‘ninja’ persona.
  • “[He] was always putting on displays of his martial arts and was teaching them privately.” (07:04, C/G)
  • “At first I was afraid of him. Yeah. I thought he was dangerous.” (08:03, C/G)
• His apartment left a strong impression: “the walls... were red. He was so impressed with his bad self that the walls... were red. And it was very dark.” (09:19, C/G)

Start of the Relationship; Early Control and Violence (11:32–14:54)

• Courtship began after Fred was jailed and started writing to G; she was 16–17.
• He moved into G’s grandmother’s house with her and quickly started to exert control, including isolating G from her mother and testing physical boundaries.
  • “He decided he was going to do his test drive of slapping me to see how I did. I guess I took it really well because I never said anything.” (14:00, C/G)
  • On the gradual escalation: “He was training me how to be abused.” (16:46, C/G)

Escalation: Violence, Intimidation, and the Move to Washington (16:57–21:22)

• After conflict with G’s mother, Fred violently assaulted her mother’s boyfriend with nunchucks and vandalized the home.
  • “He hospitalized that guy with his nunchucks.” (18:20, C/G)
• G describes how they fled Michigan for the outskirts of Fort Lewis, Washington, living in a tent and surviving by stealing food—at Fred’s insistence, G did the stealing (21:22, C/G).
• A chilling note about power dynamics: “He made me steal the food... I was a good runner.” (21:26, C/G)

Deepening Psychological Abuse: "Ninja Council," Fake Charities, and Weapon Training (22:58–31:52)

• Fred fabricated an elaborate fiction of a “ninja council,” which he used to further manipulate G through paranoia and fear. He staged their living environment to reinforce the notion they were being watched.
  • “The council was... people that were watching after him, and... they can step in at any time and resolve any situation, whether I was the situation or someone else.” (25:44, C/G)
• G was forced to collect money door-to-door for fake charities, wearing business attire found in thrift stores, carrying a homemade “canning jar” for donations.
  • “I was soliciting funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society… that was Fred’s choice. And then I got MS later in life.” (28:33, C/G; 29:29, C/G)
  • Dark humor underscores the trauma: “If Fred was a little bit smarter about making a scam official, he would have went to a print shop.” (31:52, C/G)

Physical Violence and Control: Injuries and Marriage Under Duress (32:03–37:11)

• G describes ongoing weapons training, even while pregnant, and a traumatic incident where Fred broke a bone in her foot with a staff during martial arts practice.
  • “He took and rolled that staff up and hit it like a baseball bat down on the top of my foot and broke this… big bone.” (35:06, C/G)
• Their marriage was not voluntary; she describes marrying him only out of fear:
  • “I didn’t want to get married. I was just too afraid to tell him no.” (36:42, C/G)

Patterns of Abuse and Coercion (37:50–39:36)

• Fred used a classic cycle of abuse: eggshell walking, sudden blow-ups, then romanticizing phases.
  • “If you look at it through the eggshell cycle program... you have your eggshell moments, you have your blow up moments. Then you have your romanticizing moments.” (37:50, C/G)
• G was compelled to help Fred harass and intimidate his past partners, assisting in collect calls intended to frighten them.
  • “I would do some type of introductory verbiage... and get the other party on the line so that he could get on the phone and... do his intimidation like, ‘I know where you are...’” (38:54, C/G)

The Most Disturbing Abuse: Forced Suicide Attempt While Pregnant (39:47–44:26)

• G recounts the horrifying moment Fred commanded her to commit suicide while she was pregnant, testing her loyalty with a sword:
  • “He had me kneel down on the floor facing the wall... he handed me a sword... He keeps saying things... ‘If you really love me then prove it. You need to show me right now that you’re willing to die for me.’” (41:09–42:46, C/G)
  • G describes pushing the blade into her own stomach at his insistence until he told her to stop.
    • “I start pushing the sword towards my belly... it starts going into my skin and cutting. And he let it carry on... at that point, I already had a half inch of blade in my gut.” (42:46, C/G)
  • The memory is clearly traumatizing: “It’s a moment. I just, I can’t believe I ever got out... if somebody says, like, let's get hypnotized, I'm like, not on the last day of my life.” (43:52, C/G)

Reflections: On Survival, Ongoing Threat, and the Importance of Telling the Story (44:17–45:47)

• G reflects on how Kensu (Freeman) remains a danger, manipulating through empathy now that he is incarcerated.
  • "I think... he still continues to do that... Back then, he did it through fear. Now he's using empathy." (45:09, A/Anya/Laina)
• Both mother and daughter express a sense of duty to tell the truth, warning that Kensu would victimize again if he is ever released.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the normalization and escalation of abuse:

  • “He was training me how to be abused.” (16:46, C/G)

• On the manipulative Ninja Council mythos:

  • "The council was... always placed around so they could see our house. And if things are going awry or whatever, they can step in at any time and resolve any situation..." (25:44, C/G)

• On the psychological toll:

  • “One of the things I’ve learned since I’ve been with Fred is to guard my mind and my heart.” (43:52, C/G)

• On forced loyalty-proof:

  • "He keeps saying things... ‘If you really love me then prove it. You need to show me right now that you’re willing to die for me.’” (42:46, C/G)

• On the ongoing threat posed by Kensu:

  • “He’s still doing it on a different scale. The only difference is he doesn’t have a quiet, secure living room to torture people. And so now he just rages in different ways.” (45:45, A/Anya/Laina)
  • “Somebody’s gonna go through this again.” (45:47, C/G)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 02:36–03:29 — Introduction to Kensu’s contested reputation
• 16:46 — “He was training me how to be abused.”
• 18:20 — Fred violently attacks G’s mother’s boyfriend
• 25:44 — Explanation of Ninja Council mythos
• 28:33 — Forced charity fraud and dark irony of G’s later MS diagnosis
• 35:06 — Description of bone-breaking injury
• 36:42 — Marriage under duress
• 38:54 — G compelled to participate in harassment/intimidation calls
• 42:46–43:52 — Forced suicide attempt while pregnant
• 45:45–45:47 — Reflections on Kensu’s ongoing threat

Tone and Language

• The tone is conversational but unflinching, with G and Laina employing dark humor and sarcasm (particularly around the “ninja council” and Kensu’s scams) alongside raw, painful admissions.
• G is candid, often mocking Kensu’s manipulativeness and self-importance even as she relates severe trauma.
• Both G and Laina are self-aware, acknowledging the complexity and difficulty of telling this story.

Conclusion

This episode of The Murder Sheet offers a rare, harrowing window into the lived reality of an abuser’s partner—a woman who suffered years of manipulation, violence, and psychological warfare at the hands of Fred Freeman (Temujin Kensu). By preserving the mother-daughter dialogue, the hosts allow “G’s” story to cut through the polarizing public narratives and dispel myths, showing the granular and painfully real effects of intimate partner terrorism. The episode ends with a note of gratitude to G and Laina for their courage in sharing their truth.

Recommended for listeners interested in: True crime, domestic violence awareness, criminal psychology, survivor narratives, trauma-informed journalism.