ANN ARBOR, MI -- A fatal confrontation that arose from rumors of a sex act at a high school prom has led to a second-degree murder conviction of a 20-year-old man.

James Freeman, 20, was accused of shooting 20-year-old Deandr’e Willingham in the Sycamore Meadow Apartments complex on MacArthur Boulevard in Superior Township about 1 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2017.

Camae Abrahams, 22, who was with Freeman at the time, confronted and slapped or hit Willingham prior to the shooting, witnesses and attorneys said during trial.

The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office charged Freeman with open murder and Abrahams with accessory after the fact to murder.

The couple opted for a bench trial, meaning the judge, not a jury, would issue a verdict. After a three-day trial, Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Darlene O’Brien found the pair guilty, Freeman of second-degree murder.

Before the shooting, Abrahams was angry at Willigham for spreading rumors that she had performed oral sex on him when they attended a high school prom together, trial testimony revealed.

Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Nimish Ganatra said Willingham, in response to being struck, raised his fist, as if to strike Abrahams, but then lowered his arm and began to walk away. Freeman then pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking Willingham three times, Ganatra said.

Freeman, who took the stand to testify at his own trial, claimed self defense.

Freeman said Willingham dropped his hand near his waist, and he feared Willingham was about to pull out a gun.

“I was scared. He reaches for the handgun — he either shoots me or my wife,” Freeman said. “... I produced the weapon and used it to protect my wife.”

It’s not clear whether Freeman and Abrahams are legally married; they do however, have a child together, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that Abrahams and Freeman fled the scene after the shooting, and were spotted leaving the apartment complex in Abrahams’ gray Volkswagen Jetta.

Surveillance footage shown in court placed Freeman and Abrahams at a Walmart in Livonia a few hours after the murder. Freeman testified that after the shooting, he and Abrahams picked up their son, went to retrieve money that was owed to him and then went to Walmart.

During that time, he threw his phone out the car window. He said he’d seen on TV crime dramas that police can track a suspect’s location using a cellphone.

Later, he drove to Inkster to stay with family. There, he said, he threw the gun he used to kill Willingham in a dumpster.

Freeman surrendered himself to police on Oct. 10, 2017.

Also presented in court during the trial was a video dated June 18, 2017, showing Freeman waving a handgun and singing a song. In the video, he flips the camera and shows Abrahams in the background. He testified it was was the same gun he used to kill Willingham.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 20.