Page 3 - Loved Andre News Today

. septembe 19th, 2007 donned in chicago like any other late summer day. hot, humid, windy. the usual. except for one thing -- nailah franklin, ambitious, dependable and always on her phone was suddenly radio silent. even with her new love, andre. >> i called her that morning, e-mailed her, called her again early afternoon. >> thats when he sent her that all caps e-mail, are you alive. >> you probably didnt mean it the way it really was. >> no, its like to say, are you there. >> big sister did ...

People saying they saw her at this location. >> but not a single one led to nailah. by now, the detectives believed they were dealing with a serious crime. and yet -- >> shes missing. technically there hasnt been a crime committed. >> that makes it somewhat awkward when youre looking into it. >> anyone we knew who had contact with. the boyfriend she was in wisconsin with the weekend before she went missing, they were all interviewed. >> that boyfriend from wisconsin, andre, had come to chicago, ...

>> she was dating a plastic surgeon guy and this guy and that guy. >> she took up briefly with a dashing investor who drove a white bentley. and then in july, 2007, nailah attended an art gallery opening, and he came. this lawyer from milwaukee, andre wright. >> she had big beautiful smile. she was a very pretty woman. very warm personality, and we just kind of walked around the space looking at different pieces, talking about my interests. what i was looking for in a piece of art. obviously, i ...

Delay the process. >> nbc chicagos reporter watched in something like amazement as reginald turned speedy justice into something else all together. >> he hired lawyers, fired lawyers, tried to act as his own attorney. at each step of the process, the trial had to be reset. >> one, two, three years passed that way. in the fourth year after the murder, illinois abolished capital punishment so that was off the table. and still, reginalds actions forced delays. >> this is one of the most bizarre cas...

Would buy reginalds story or the prosecutors. and here it was. >> you are a cold, calculating, conniving, coward of a con man who must be punished. >> and indeed he was. life without parole. >> take him away. >> so that was justice. the most nailahs family could hope for. terribly important. and strangely empty. >> its still not done. shes still not back. you still cant talk with her. >> no. they tried to remember nailah not as a murder victim but as a beautiful young woman she was. the vibrant ...

>> nbc chicagos reporter watched in something like amazement as reginald turned speedy justice into something else all together. >> he hired lawyers, fired lawyers, tried to act as his own attorney. at each step of the process, the trial had to be reset. >> one, two, three years passed that way. in the fourth year after the murder, illinois abolished capital punishment so that was off the table. and still, reginalds actions forced delays. >> this is one of the most bizarre cases weve seen in chi...

>> she took up briefly with a dashing investor who drove a white bentley. and then in july, 2007, nailah attended an art gallery opening, and he came. this lawyer from milwaukee, andre wright. >> she had big beautiful smile. she was a very pretty woman. very warm personality, and we just kind of walked around the space looking at different pieces, talking about my interests. what i was looking for in a piece of art. obviously, i tried to engage her. >> suddenly this is a different search than it...

The prosecutors. and here it was. >> you are a cold, calculating, conniving, coward of a con man who must be punished. >> and indeed he was, life without parole. >> take him away. >> so that was justice, the most nailahs family could hope for. terribly important. and strangely, empty. >> its still not done. shes still not back. we still cant talk with her. >> no, they try to remember nailah, not as a murder ctim, but as the beautiful young woman she was, the vibrant center of her family. but gri...

Dashing investor who drove a white bentley. and then in july, 2007, nailah attended an art gallery opening, and he came. this lawyer from milwaukee, andre wright. >> she had big beautiful smile. she was a very pretty woman. very warm personality, and we just kind of walked around the space looking at different pieces, talking about my interests. what i was looking for in a piece of art. obviously, i tried to engage her. >> suddenly this is a different search than it was before. >> i mean, the ar...

Life without parole. >> take him away. >> so that was justice. the most nailahs family could hope for. terribly important. and strangely empty. >> its still not done. shes still not back. you still cant talk with her. >> no. they tried to remember nailah not as a murder victim but as a beautiful young woman she was. the vibrant center of her family. but grief, real and painful, comes to visit every day. >> you know, people say, oh, well, shes your spirit and shes your angel and shes in a better ...