Where is Jermain Charlo’s ex-boyfriend, Michael DeFrance, now? Details explored about the subject of 48 Hours on CBS
Michael DeFrance returns to public view on Saturday, June 7, when CBS rebroadcasts 48 Hours: Where is Jermain Charlo? at 10/9c and streams it on Paramount+. The investigation revisits the six-year effort to find the missing Montana mother.
Michael DeFrance was the last confirmed person to see Charlo when they left a Missoula bar just before midnight on June 15–16, 2018, yet detectives have never formally named him a suspect at this time, as per a CBS News report dated June 4, 2025.
Court documents show Michael DeFrance pleaded not guilty to federal charges of possessing firearms barred by a 2013 domestic-assault conviction, according to Justice.gov press dated August 2, 2021. A jury convicted him in April 2023, but the Ninth Circuit vacated that verdict in December 2024, remanding the case for resentencing, as per the NBC Montana report dated January 3, 2025.
Daily Montanan reporting dated August 2, 2021, notes Michael DeFrance currently remains in Montana under court supervision, while investigators continue treating Charlo’s disappearance as a no-body homicide.
Michael DeFrance: Current whereabouts, complete legal timeline, and his link to Jermain Charlo revisited in 48 Hours
Michael DeFrance’s legal path began with a May 6, 2013, partner-family-member-assault plea in which he lost his firearm rights, as per the Daily Montanan report dated August 2, 2021.
The case re-emerged after Charlo’s June 16, 2018, disappearance. Security video shows her and DeFrance leaving a Missoula alley just before midnight, and cell-tower data later placed her phone near his Evaro Hill residence before he told detectives he discarded it in Idaho, as per a CBS News report dated June 4, 2025.
On August 2, 2018, investigators executed the first firearms warrant at that property and seized multiple weapons prohibited to him under the 2013 plea. A federal indictment followed on July 28, 2021, charging Michael DeFrance with possessing those firearms and making false statements. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment, as per Justice.gov press dated August 2, 2021.
After a two-day trial on April 26, 2023, a jury convicted him on all counts. Detective Guy Baker testified that dozens of searches have "come up empty-handed,” linking the gun case to the wider investigation, as per a CBS News report dated June 4, 2025.
Although the district court handed down a 21-month sentence in September 2023, Michael DeFrance remained free pending appeal. The Ninth Circuit vacated the conviction on December 30, 2024, ruling his 2013 misdemeanour did not meet the federal definition of a disqualifying “crime of violence” and remanded the matter for resentencing, as per the NBC Montana report dated January 3, 2025.
How investigators connect DeFrance to the disappearance
As cited CBS News report dated June 7, 2025, Deputy County Attorney Brittany Williams told 48 Hours about DeFrance,
"He lives specifically up on the Evaro Hill area… he was the last person to be with Jermain Charlo before her life, as we know it, came to a standstill."
DeFrance’s shifting story, first claiming he dropped Charlo at a grocery store, later at a nearby neighbourhood, and finally admitting he kept and dumped her phone, remains central to police interest.
Family members have pressed for answers. Aunt Valenda Morigeau recalled, noting the silence that triggered the missing-person report, as per a CBS News report dated June 4, 2025.
“She was very active on social media… she posted about everything,” she stated.
Status of the case ahead of the new 48 Hours encore
Authorities now label the file a no-body homicide, but no suspect has been named. Investigators continue to review tips and sealed warrants while the federal firearms matter against DeFrance awaits a new hearing date.
The 48 Hours broadcast will replay the exclusive surveillance footage and renew appeals for information. For Charlo’s relatives, justice means “bringing her home” and resolving lingering questions about Michael DeFrance and the night of June 15–16, 2018.
Stay tuned for more updates.
