Kriti Mehrotra
Ever since Jermain Charlo suddenly disappeared without a trace left behind in June 2018, there has been a sense of perplexity in the air on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. That’s because, as explored in CBS’ ’48 Hours: Jermain Charlo?,’ the 23-year-old mother of two has never been found, heard from, or seen again, making the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic even more prominent. There have been some uncertainties regarding her ex-boyfriend and baby daddy, Michael DeFrance, since he was the last person to see her alive, but he has never even been named as a person of interest in this ordeal.
Michael DeFrance and Jermain Charlo Had a Tumultuous Relationship
It was back in the mid to late 2000s when Michael first came across Jermain after his family moved in across the street from hers, just for them to soon become inseparable. Their 2-year age difference – she was 14, whereas he was 16 – didn’t matter to them, and they spent most of their time either fishing on the river or taking long walks. Therefore, as their relationship progressed, things between them started becoming a little intimate too, which her family didn’t really like. That’s because one of her aunts had found some explicit photos of her on her phone, and when she mentioned it to her boyfriend, expressing that they were too young, he didn’t really have a response for her. He allegedly didn’t apologise or offer any comfort to them at all.
However, April 2013 is when things really took a turn for the worse between Michael and Jermain, as he allegedly hit her two weeks before her 18th birthday. According to court documents, she did press charges, and the then-19-year-old confessed to causing “bodily injury to my girlfriend” after hitting her 3 times before using his fist. He even pleaded guilty to one count of partner family member assault, but since this was his first offense, he was only given probation, and his right to possess firearms was permanently revoked.
Despite this physical violence, Michael and Jermain remained romantically involved, with her even moving in with him in a camper on his parents’ property for their young family. After all, they soon welcomed two sons into this world – Jacob and Thomas – all the while he served as a seasonal firefighter, while she pursued her creative dreams and even established a YouTube Channel. Nevertheless, their relationship remained far from perfect, with them being on again, off again, until they finally parted ways for good around 2017.
Michael DeFrance Was the Last Known Person to See Jermain Charlo
According to records, Jermain had decided to go on a night out in downtown Missoula on June 15, 2018, and she was last seen walking away from outside a bar called The Badlander shortly before midnight. With her was a male figure who was later identified as Michael, and he told authorities during his questioning that once they stepped away from the camera’s scope, they got into his 2011 brown Dodge truck. That’s because he claimed he had offered to give her a ride, and she had allegedly asked him to drop her off around South Orange Street because she had planned to spend the night at the home of a friend named Cassidy.
When investigators looked into these claims, they learned that not only did Jermain have no one named Cassidy in her life, but that there was also something strange about Michael’s statements. While they were able to confirm that the mother of two had recently begun visiting Missoula regularly because she was dating a local who lived in that South Orange Street area, he was out of town on the fateful night. This man told officials that even though he was out of state, he knew his lover planned on staying the night at his place and that they had even been texting throughout the evening. Yet, he said, he did find it strange when she stopped responding around 1 am, and even his call to her went to voicemail after a few rings.
1 am is the same time Michael claimed to have dropped off Jermain, but when investigators tracked her cell phone in the hopes of getting some answers, they found something strange. Her phone provider verified that the 1 am call was silenced and disconnected, but then her pinged cell towers in Evaro Hill from 2 am to 10 am on June 16. The Evaro Hill area is where Michael resided at the time, and when faced with this piece of evidence, he claimed that she had forgotten her phone in his car, and he kept it with him for a while to go through it, only to be unsuccessful. He then asserted he disposed of the phone at mile marker 94 on Highway 12 in Idaho, but gave no explanation as to why he took this extreme measure.
Michael DeFrance is Currently Facing Gun Charges
Although Michael’s actions have raised some concerns over the years, he has never once been publicly named a person of interest in Jermain’s disappearance. This is despite the fact that the latter’s new lover had also told officials that she had expressed worry over her ex because he had called her just a day before her disappearance, yelling at her and asking her if she was dating someone new. It turns out he wanted to get back together with the mother of his two sons. So, investigators even carried out search warrants on his property, but they yielded no clues about Jermain or her whereabouts. However, in 2018, they did find several firearms in his possession, which resulted in his arrest on July 28, 2021.
Because of Michael’s 2013 plea, he was not allowed to own any firearms, so he was charged with one count of prohibited person in possession of firearms and ammunition, and three counts of false statement during a firearms transaction. In April 2023, he stood trial and was found guilty on all 4 counts after two days of testimonies, as a result of which he was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to be under a lifetime ban on firearms and ammunition. But alas, he appealed the verdict the same day and was allowed to be released pending the result. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned his verdict in December 2024, stating that his situation was not sufficient to charge him under the federal law, so it was sent back to the lower courts, and he still awaits his verdict. Until this case comes to a close, he remains a resident of the Flathead Reservation, with both his sons in his custody.
Read More: Jermain Charlo Disappearance Details and Investigation Timeline
