Suvechha Sarkar
Jeffrey R. Franklin Jr. was a spirited teenage boy born with special needs. However, his beautiful life came to an abrupt halt in March 2017, when he was brutally killed at his home in Chenango County, New York. What initially seemed to be an accidental house fire soon turned into a homicide investigation as time progressed. Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Murder Tapes: Things Weigh On You’ revisits the investigation that revealed unsettling secrets leading authorities down a path they did not anticipate. It also features interviews from his loved ones and officials who worked closely on the case.
Jeffrey Franklin Was Found Dead in His Home in New York
Jeffrey R. Franklin Jr., fondly known as JR, was born on July 22, 2000, in Binghamton, in Broome County, New York. While there isn’t much information about his parents, it has been reported that he was placed under the care of his aunt, Jennifer Austin. Life presented him with different challenges like deafness, autism, limited mobility, and developmental delays. He was also unable to communicate without using sign language, but he never let that dim his light. When Jeffrey was about nine or ten years old, Jennifer said that she had asked him if he wanted to stay with her and his uncle or get into foster care to get his own parents. He chose the latter, and that was when he met his foster parents, Ernest and Heather Franklin.
Ernest and Heather had been trying to have a child for a long time and decided to welcome him into their life. They were raising him in their home in Chenango County, New York. He profoundly loved trains, playing with Legos, and even colorful books. Around 2016, they officially adopted him, and everything seemed quite perfect. However, things turned upside down on March 1, 2017. Around 1:14 am on that fateful morning, one of Ernest and Heather’s neighbors called 911 to inform them that their house was on fire. He further added that he was unsure if any occupant was inside. When officials rushed to the scene, they noticed Ernest standing outside, who informed them that 16-year-old Jeffrey was still in the house. The blazing fire was brought under control long after the firefighters arrived.
Unfortunately, as the officials rummaged through the remnants of the house, they discovered Jeffrey deceased on the mattress in his bedroom in a sleeping position. As the fire department investigated the cause of the fire, they found the stove door open in the living room. The autopsy revealed that there was a lack of soot in his tongue, mouth, and lungs. Furthermore, it also uncovered the lack of Carboxyhemoglobin, which usually remains at a high level when a person passes away from inhalation of smoke during a fire. Both of those factors indicated that Jeffrey passed away before the house caught on fire, turning it into a homicide investigation.
Jeffrey’s Killers Blamed the Fire Until the Autopsy Revealed the Truth
Since Ernest was the only person present at the scene, officials first questioned him. He claimed that Jeffrey went to sleep around 8:30 to 9 pm, following which he and Heather watched a movie that finished around 10:30 pm. Ernest informed the police that his wife then went out to get some medicines since she was pregnant and had not yet returned. He claimed that in the meantime, he started a fire in the wood stove and then went out behind their dogs, who had run off into the woods. Ernest continued that when he returned from the woods, he saw the house engulfed in fire and ran to the neighbor’s home to ask them to call 911. When Heather returned, she tearfully asserted that she had first gone to Walmart around 11 pm. Afterward, she claimed to have gone directly to Price Chopper and returned to Walmart again.
Although officials confirmed Heather’s account through the CCTV footage from the Walmart parking lot, they could not confirm Ernest’s since he claimed to have been out in the woods. What raised red flags for the detectives was that the latter did not try to save Jeffrey. Furthermore, the fire department felt something was amiss since the manner of fire progression didn’t match his accounts. When his neighbor, Dominick Gildersleeve, was questioned, he informed investigators that Ernest claimed to have PTSD and was afraid of fire. So, Dominick was concerned about whether he was triggered by something that led to the incident. Ernest’s father told the police that his son became angrier after returning from the military after one and a half years. He mentioned that his son claimed he was in Iraq during his time in the service.
Things changed when Ernest’s sister arrived at the station and informed detectives that she had heard him say that he had lost the support money that he used to receive for Jeffrey shortly after the incident. When he was again questioned, he alleged that he was in combat in Afghanistan during his time in the military, but upon checking, it turned out to be false. Soon after, they executed a search warrant on Heather’s truck and the residence. In the vehicle, they discovered a portable GPS unit that revealed she returned home for five to six minutes that night after her first trip to Walmart, contrary to her statements. She continued denying knowing anything about the incident. Ultimately, both of them were arrested on March 22, 2017, following the autopsy report and formally indicted on March 24, on charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and arson.
While Ernest is Serving His Time in Prison, Heather is Out on Parole Today
The jury trial of Ernest for the murder of Jeffrey began on February 27, 2019. The prosecutors reportedly presented all the available circumstantial evidence before the court. They argued that both he and Heather killed their adoptive child and set the house on fire to conceal the crime. They pointed out that catering to Jeffrey’s special needs created a stressful environment for them, leading to the crime. Aside from that, the prosecutors reportedly argued that the pair had watched the film ‘Manchester by the Sea’ right before the crime, which further motivated them. On the other hand, the defense claimed that Ernest was innocent and argued that the evidence presented before the court was purely circumstantial.
Ernest was found guilty on March 11, 2019, of second-degree murder, third-degree arson, and tampering with physical evidence. He was sentenced to 21 years to life in prison for murder, 5 to 15 years for arson, and 1⅓ to 4 years for tampering, to be served concurrently. On the other hand, Heather took a deal and pleaded guilty on April 2, 2019, to the reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter, third-degree arson, and tampering with physical evidence. On July 15, 2019, she was sentenced to 5 years in prison, followed by 5 years of post-release supervision for manslaughter. She was also sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison for arson and tampering on July 15, 2019, to be served consecutively. Following his sentencing, Ernest appealed his conviction, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, but the Appellate Court upheld the ruling on May 18, 2023.
Heather appealed her conviction, but the court upheld the plea-based judgment. However, they noted that prosecutors shouldn’t have imposed consecutive sentences for two convictions stemming from a single act. Hence, the court modified the sentencing structure by making the terms for arson and tampering run concurrently rather than consecutively. However, that particular sentence remains consecutive to the manslaughter term. As of writing, Ernest is serving his time at Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, New York. He will be eligible to be released on parole not before March 18, 2038. Heather has been out on supervised parole with a Limited Credit Time Allowance since December 20, 2023.
Read More: Elyse Pahler Murder: Where Are Royce Casey, Joseph Fiorella, and Jacob Delashmutt Now?
