STORM2K

Dad Killed Teen With Golf Club, Coroner Says
Man Accused Of Crushing Daughter's Skull With Putter While She Slept

POSTED: 2:43 pm EDT October 14, 2005
UPDATED: 3:38 pm EDT October 14, 2005

NORWOOD, Ohio -- An Ohio man used a golf putter to beat his daughter to death while she was sleeping, the Hamilton County Coroner said Friday.

Gordon A. Franklin, 39, struck the 13-year-old multiple times in the head, Dr. O'Dell Owens said.

Danielle Franklin was killed about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Owens said. He said he concluded she was asleep because she had no defensive wounds.

"She didn't know it was coming." Owens said.

Norwood police Detective Michael Huston would not suggest a motive for the killing. Huston said the coroner hadn't determined if there had been sexual or physical abuse. He said the girl's father did not show any signs of alcohol or drugs.

"He appeared to be normal to us," Huston said.

Franklin confessed to killing Danielle after he was arrested at about midnight Friday, police said.

Police think Franklin walked out of the house after the killing and wandered for hours over several miles until he was found at a local mall.

"He just continuously walked," Huston said.

Police found Franklin after getting a tip from someone who knows Franklin and spotted him in the area, Huston said.

Danielle was wearing her pajamas and hadn't gotten up for school. Her mother found her body after Norwood Middle School called to inquire about the eighth-grader, police said.

Danielle's body was found on the second floor in a room where she had fallen asleep watching TV, Owens said. The golf putter was found next to her, Owens said.

http://www.wral.com/news/5100184/detail.html

That's so sad, Eric. The man is obviously very disturbed. I pray for the girl and the family!

What did she do to desrve THAT kind of punishment?

OH MY GOD!!!!!! That is just horrible!!!!!!

My take? The little girl was GROWING UP...i.e., not easily "controlled". There may be a lot more here than meets the eye, re: the father...stay tuned.

Eric, I sure wish I knew what the heck is happening with people today. It makes me sick to read this stuff anymore.

I've never heard of such things happening! Society, this must be confined to the U.S.A. I've never heard of such brutality besides in wars!

This is awful. Hope they punish this guy as harshly as the courts allow.

conestogo_flood wrote:I've never heard of such things happening! Society, this must be confined to the U.S.A. I've never heard of such brutality besides in wars!

Um okay.

conestogo_flood wrote:I've never heard of such things happening! Society, this must be confined to the U.S.A. I've never heard of such brutality besides in wars!

Take a sociology course and learn about other cultures. You'd be amazed at what some countries consider "normal."

I can't believe that. I know the kind of stuff happens everyday, but it is still hard for me to believe. And he does it when she is asleep so she couldn't even defend herself. Very sad. I hope and pray for the other members in her family. And I hope this wacko gets beat to a pulp when he goes to prison.

Eric - I share your anguish. This story broke Thursday night. We here in Cincinnati had a continuous breaking news scroll on every local channel, with the dad's picture, giving his last known whereabouts. He ended up at a Mall in my area! Thank goodness a security guard spotted him.

Apparently he was bi-polar and his daughter was afraid of how mean he could get w/o meds. Danielle would ask if she could stay with friends when her dad was in one of his mean streaks. The friends complied. Now if a friend of one of my daughter's told them this, what would I do? Just open our front door and say welcome? I think I'd want to do more and try to get that family help.

There's more....3 years ago he told police he would either kill his son or did kill, to go on disability.

There were red flags.

What I want to know I guess is this - if this man could be so mean w/o meds, why on earth did the mother stay with him? I would have taken those kids and left. If he qualified for visitation rights, I would have stayed at every visitation visit.

Well, I'm sure the mother feels awful now. Don't really want to put the blame on her but clearly this was not your average, everyone loves eachother, no anger in this household, family.



Here's the latest article:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... /510150374

Mary

Mary,

Also, unless it was a teachers in-service day at her school yesterday...wouldn't most kids be up by 7 am to start getting ready for their day? The attack happened at 7:30 am and even then it seems sleeping in that late so to say on a school day...when most kids are up and around by 7 if not 6:45 or 6:30 to catch the bus.

Well, my prayers and thoughts are with Danielle's family and friends.

Eric

Skywatch_NC wrote:Mary,

Also, unless it was a teachers in-service day at her school yesterday...wouldn't most kids be up by 7 am to start getting ready for their day? The attack happened at 7:30 am and even then it seems sleeping in that late so to say on a school day...when most kids are up and around by 7 if not 6:45 or 6:30 to catch the bus.

Well, my prayers and thoughts are with Danielle's family and friends.

Eric

The timing is confusing, I'll give you that. If you read the article above I provided a link for, Danielle and a few of her friends stole candy at school. They were in trouble, not thru school but she was grounded. She called friends the night before telling them she was most afraid of what her dad would do when he found out. I guess now we know what he would do. Over candy? She was a good kid that just made a bad decision. She must have been off school that day. The only late start time I've ever heard of is our district's 6 Elementaries - they begin school at 9:10. My girls didn't get up until 7:30 when they were students at that school. But this girl was in Middle School! Most schools by that age/grade, have very early start times. We get up everyday at 5:20. Yes, you read that right - 5:20. Laura pokes and I need to get up with her to keep her on track.

But enough of that. I thought that was all odd too. Perhaps that article will shed more light.

Here's another article:
http://www.cincynow.com/news/2005/local ... roner.html

Not sure where I read or heard about the dad's past false accusations about killing the son, just to qualify for disability. But Jim said he heard it. Maybe it was mentioned on the news.

Mary

I think that it is very strange that her mother did not find her body until after 1 p.m in the afternoon. Most mothers if they are home, will see their daughter getting ready for school. I know if it was my daughter and I did not hear her getting out of bed to get ready by a certain time, I would go check her bedroom.

GalvestonDuck wrote:

conestogo_flood wrote:I've never heard of such things happening! Society, this must be confined to the U.S.A. I've never heard of such brutality besides in wars!

Take a sociology course and learn about other cultures. You'd be amazed at what some countries consider "normal."

Good grief!

conestogo_flood wrote:I've never heard of such things happening! Society, this must be confined to the U.S.A. I've never heard of such brutality besides in wars!

The Roman pater familias had absolute power over everyone in his house, and would be able to kill his daughters and sons at will, along with slaves. They did exercise that right sometimes also.

<<

That news is dreadful, makes me sick to my stomach. The world is messed up, and it always has been.

GalvestonDuck wrote:

conestogo_flood wrote:I've never heard of such things happening! Society, this must be confined to the U.S.A. I've never heard of such brutality besides in wars!

Take a sociology course and learn about other cultures. You'd be amazed at what some countries consider "normal."

You have a good point here Galvestonduck. CNN stories about honor killings comes to mind.

From the looks of it, golf seems to be the problem. But if I had to delve deeper maybe its just the fact that we choose violence as the answer to every problem nowadays . But yeh I don't think this is a regular occurence in Canada.

O Town wrote:I can't believe that. I know the kind of stuff happens everyday, but it is still hard for me to believe. And he does it when she is asleep so she couldn't even defend herself. Very sad. I hope and pray for the other members in her family. And I hope this wacko gets beat to a pulp when he goes to prison.

It's likely. If there's anything prison inmates despise, it's child killers and child molesters.