Sheriff Bill Franklin
Appearances
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
He seemed more concerned about a missing homecoming, the school, and things of that nature. He didn't seem that upset?
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
I don't know what his mindset was there, but could that have, you know, triggered him? Sure it could have.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
Holton's bond is now set at a combined... I don't go out here and beat a drum because we were able to put a 17-year-old boy in jail. But pretty much, Josh, if it looks, walks, talks, feels, and smells like a duck, we're pretty much going to treat it like a duck.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
There's a lot of people that come to jail and there's a lot of people that profess their innocence and they've been found guilty or later they will pretty much profess their guilt on actually what they did.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
Our primary investigator is in his mid-30s. Our chief investigator is in his late 40s. They were both able, in about 12 to 15 seconds, stand up, slip it below their feet, get in front of them, take a handcuff key that's been placed right in front of them, and get out of the handcuffs.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
I had missed a minute's sleep at night because we were able to charge that kid.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
The conversation that he'd had with the deputy, I don't think anyone would agree that the man, well, is gonna go in there in his fist and kill his wife and kill himself. He was very clear-minded.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
You think Madison's getting away with murder? It's an open case. As long as I'm sheriff, that's an open case.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
Yeah. I mean, it's a homicide. I didn't hurt either of my parents. I don't think anybody's jumping up and down about having to put a 17-year-old boy in jail.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
That was it. And what he did, he called the sheriff's office and we sent a deputy up there.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
Mr. Holton had actually greeted him in the yard. and told him, hey, when you come in, you're going to see my son is handcuffed. And he said, I'm trying to discipline my son. Sheriff Franklin says he's seen parents discipline their kids in all sorts of ways. I don't think that his intent was to harm or hurt the kid. He was merely trying to see what he could do to try to get his attention. To me...
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
He was very, I would say, inquisitive about what could he do paperwork-wise to get his child in front of a judge so he could talk to the judge about the problems that he was experiencing with the child. So maybe straighten him out in his view. That's right. That's right.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
He leaves and supposedly everything's okay. And then 11 minutes later, there's a 911 call. That's correct.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
You go forward with a homicide investigation. It's not a head scratcher. You get a piece of paper that says homicide.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
From what we had been told, you would think that he actually shot her, Mr. Holton, and then would have turned the gun and shot himself. That's what one would tend to believe.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
I've been in law enforcement for 39 years. I have never seen somebody try to commit suicide in such a weird, unique manner. If you argue that Mr. Holton did shoot his wife and then turn the gun on himself, why such a bizarre way to do that?
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
The only way we were able to do that is hold a gun upside down and place it upside down and then angle it, because remember, the angle is upward.
Dateline NBC
11 Minutes
He does not believe that that man would have killed himself or would have been able to kill himself in that manner. And so you go forward with a homicide investigation. It's not a head scratcher. You get a piece of paper that says homicide.