Tampa adjuster Katie Froeschle murder by Jason Funk

I've been a Florida resident for most of my life, specifically south Florida where we see more than our fair share of hurricanes. While my immediate area was affected more significantly in 2005 when hurricane Wilma hit, the steady stream of hurricanes in 2004 were quite memorable. Here are the four the episode referred to:

• Charley: Hit on the west coast and caused loads of damage and debris where some of my family live. My folks drove over immediately after it hit and spent a week there helping to fix and clear. Tough living in the Florida summer with no power, made worse with no running water.
• Frances: Had a pretty steady course of heading near us. I locked my house down and went inland to my folks. We lost power pretty early on, but Frances ended up churning off the coast a county north of us and never did much damage in our area.
• Ivan: Initially looked strong and dangerous. Convinced to stay home this time, I fought the crowds at Home Depot to buy my allotted number of sheets of plywood. But before I ever got them up, Ivan steered south of us to hit the panhandle states hard a few days later.
• Jeanne: I must've had hurricane fatigue by this time, because I don't remember this one. Researching, it looks like it made landfall north of lake Okeechobee.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

Despite a very clear time window, this episode was cryptic about the specific dates of the crime. I found strong indicators that it was Friday, November 12th, 2004 – namely from this great article from PRNewsWire.com about Safety in The Field for Adjusters, and All-Onsite Professionals. Katie's father Jeff Froeschle had actually been key in sharing the information for this important 2012 article that presents the safety issues faced by insurance adjusters. It was easy to tell that Jeff was a loving father to "Kate", and he was a great interview throughout the episode. I can't imagine the pain he and Katie's mother endured and continue to struggle with having lost a daughter at a mere 25 years old. A graduate from Florida State University, Katie had a bright future ahead of her, and it took only the whim on desperate man to change a lot of lives.

At only 27, Funk already had prior convictions for assaulting women. He had lost his job a mere two days prior to meeting Katie, and before being charged with her murder, he was arrested for growing marijuana, armed robbery and burglary of a vehicle. Money was clearly one of Jason Funk's motives when he assaulted Katie Froeschle, but was it his only? The results of Katie's rape test kit were inconclusive, but when found the victim was only partially clothed. Money issues can cause a man like Jason Funk to do stupid things, but I'm not sure if desperation can be the only excuse for his foolishness.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

It one was key idea that initially led me to build this website: What are the dumb things these criminals are doing that lead to their capture and/or conviction? I began recognizing that some of these mistakes were occasionally repeated by a different perpetrator in another episode. This was my "a-ha" moment, and I realized that other episode factoids were interestingly "common" as well. But the truly stupid mistakes were still a major focus for me – this evolved into each episode's "No Evil Geniuses Here" section.

Having viewed each episode multiple times, some obvious events stood out. I'd seen scene staging where the attempt to simulate a break-in was thwarted when the actual perpetrator broke the glass from the inside-out. In another, the culprit kept the victim's car, yet he was unaware it contained incriminating evidence. But I never thought any episode would end up with a criminal dumb enough to warrant more than one of these citations. In Jason Funk's case, he committed an all-too-common blunder when he wore the same shoes he'd had on while committing his offense to the police interview. But he also had his own one-of-a-kind error when he bought something with his victim's credit card and… wait for it… SIGNED HIS OWN NAME. As he's the only clown do to this in 400 episodes, let's call this one his signature blunder.

To me, Jason's stupidity doesn't just stop there. Katie's mother mentioned that Jason was steadfast in his denial of being involved, but the evidence was overwhelming. The episode made no mention of an alternate fact chain that could explain away even some of the evidence. Here's a rundown:

• Katie's business card was on a shelf in the kitchen of the home rented by Jason Funk
• Katie's pre-paid toll device also found in the home
• Katie's blood was found on
• the door frame
• the ceiling
• Jason's shoe
• Remnants of firepit in back yard included belt buckle that was likely Katie's
• Jason's fingerprints on bank envelope from Katie's car
• Witness saw man resembling Jason abandoning Katie's car
• Video of Jason using Katie's debit card (and signing own name)
• Motorcycle muffler matched pattern injuries on Katie

Image credit: Florida Department of Law Enforcement

Where is Jason Funk now in 2024?

Jason Matthew Funk pleaded guilty to the murder of Katie Froeschle to avoid Hillsborough County prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. He was adjudicated on March 23, 2005 and received a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Jason Funk is currently incarcerated at the Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green, Florida.