NORWICH – The Franklin murder trial continued Monday with testimony from the defendant’s sister about the Franklins, the treatment of their adopted son, and their emotional state in the days after he had passed away.
Ernest Franklin II, 36, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree arson, and tampering with physical evidence.
Prosecutors say at around midnight on March 1, 2017 Ernest Franklin and Heather Franklin worked together to kill their 16-year-old disabled son, Jeffrey Franklin, and burn the evidence at their home at 457 State Route 8 in the Town of Guilford.
According to Connie Davis, the defendant’s sister, Jeffrey was a sweet kid who liked to have fun, but was deaf and was unable to have a conversation without using sign language.
“He had the mind of a seven year old,” said Davis. “...but he wasn’t allowed to act like a kid.”
She said she’d go to the Franklin home and eat dinner, play games, or sometimes watch movies with them multiple times a week – before she filed a child protective services complaint against them in 2015. On cross examination she added that when she was told she’d have to testify in this case she told defense that she would rather overdose on prescription medication than testify against her brother.
Davis said on February 27, 2017, approximately two days before the fire, Ernest Franklin asked her if she’d take Jeffrey.
“He told me, ‘Do you want Jeffrey?” said Davis. “I responded, ‘Yes, pack his bags and I’ll take him.’”
She said Heather Franklin responded, “No you can’t have him, you’d just bring him right back because he’s a rotten kid.
She added that in the days following the fire, Heather and Ernest Franklin showed no emotion towards the loss of Jeffrey, and Ernest mentioned, “In a matter of minutes $2,000 a month was gone.”
During her testimony on Monday, she described some of the things Jeffrey was punished for, and how she often felt badly for him for being punished for being a kid.
“J.R. (Jeffrey) would use his voice more than allowed, so he would get in trouble,” she explained. “I would make him laugh, and he would get told, ‘No voice,’ and get sent into the corner in the house.”
Davis said Jeffrey would only have seven minutes to eat his dinner each night, and if he went past that time his food was taken away and he’d be sent to his room. She added Jeffrey would sometimes be forced to stay in a corner for two to three hours at a time, and was often segregated from his parents when they went to church together.
“J.R. was isolated at home, he was either in his room, or put into another room,” said Davis. “If I said they weren’t treating him right, they would tell me I didn’t know what it was like since I don’t have kids.”
She said at home, Jeffrey would pee on walls, heaters, and his bed, and on February 27, 2017 a few days before he died, he had peed on his bedroom walls.
“That night I snuck into his room, waved ‘hi’ to him, and told him that I loved him,” said Davis.