Wendy's restaurant homicide: In letter, defendant said he wanted cash for real estate class goerie.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from goerie.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Erie murder trial: DA speaks of 'carnage' of Wendy's slaying goerie.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from goerie.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Erie homicides: Trial opens for man in fatal 2019 shooting goerie.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from goerie.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Defense contended defendant acted in a rage and is guilty of third-degree murder or manslaughter Jury deliberations started on Wednesday afternoon with verdict Thursday afternoon A jury had to decide two basic questions as it deliberated over the fatal stabbing of a 20-year-old Erie woman in May 2019. Did the defendant, Kevin G. Hicks-Franklin, 23, intend to kill the victim, Starleisha Smith, the best friend of his girlfriend, making Hicks-Franklin guilty of first-degree murder? Or did Hicks-Franklin kill Smith in a rage because his girlfriend was breaking up with him, and he never formed the level of intent necessary for the prosecution to prove a premeditated slaying?