Mother pleads guilty to manslaughter in 16-year-old Chenango County boy's death
ANTHONY BORRELLI | pressconnects.com
Heather Franklin could spend at least seven years in prison for her role in conspiring with her husband, Ernest, to murder their 16-year-old adopted son, Jeffrey.
The couple tried to conceal the killing by setting fire to their Chenango County home.
On Tuesday, the day before her trial was set to begin, Heather Franklin pleaded guilty in Chenango County Court to felony counts of first-degree manslaughter, third-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence.
She's facing consecutive prison terms for all three charges, which could add up to 11 years behind bars.
The Chenango County District Attorney's Office argued Ernest and Heather Franklin hatched a plot to kill their 16-year-old disabled son after watching the Oscar-winning film "Manchester by the Sea" the night of Feb. 28, 2017. The film tells the story of a man who accidentally sets a fire that kills his children. He wasn’t prosecuted.
Heather Franklin's plea agreement takes into account her acceptance of responsibility for her actions surrounding the circumstances of Jeffrey's death, said Acting District Attorney Michael Ferrarese.
She originally faced a murder charge, and Ferrarese said he believed the legally admissible evidence would have convicted her of it, but this is "a just plea," given the circumstances.
If Heather's case had gone to trial, Ferrarese said, testimony would have demonstrated her mistreatment and frustration toward Jeffrey. Facebook posts also showed her hostility.
Jeffrey had been deaf and mute, and lived with behavioral issues that created a stressful home environment for his adoptive parents, which Ferrarese said helped motivate the crime.
By February 2017, Heather was also pregnant with the couple's first biological child.
Investigators believed the fire began in a wood stove on the southern end of the Franklin home in Guilford.
The vent pipe was in good working order, Ferrarese said, and it's suspected that Ernest Franklin left the stove door open so the fire could spread.
Meanwhile, Heather Franklin drove into Norwich and surrounding areas.
She stopped at the Walmart in Norwich, returned to the vicinity near the Franklin home from 12:42 to 12:46 a.m., then drove to Price Chopper in Sidney for about 10 minutes, according to Ferrarese.
Then, she drove around Bainbridge and Coventry, before returning to the fire scene by 2:18 that morning.
Ernest Franklin, 36, faces up to 25 years to life in state prison when he's sentenced for felony counts of second-degree murder, third-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence. Jurors in Chenango County Court spent an hour and 40 minutes deliberating before finding him guilty on all charges.
Ferrarese said there were "100 percent burns" to Jeffrey's body, but there were no signs of soot or smoke in the boy's wind pipe or lungs. The prosecutor argued Jeffrey died as a result of "violent means" before the fire started.
The Franklins have a biological child, who is now in the care of grandparents.