FBI Now Involved In Franklin Case

JACKSON, Miss. - WAPT.com

The FBI is helping to build a case against a man who may be connected to the slayings of 10 women in Hinds County, officials said Thursday.

Ricky Franklin is charged with kidnapping, sexual battery, rape and aggravated assault, Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith said. He’s accused of beating a woman and sucking her blood before raping her on Saturday.

The FBI searched Franklin’s Hinds County residence Thursday, officials said. A number of items were collected and were being processed as evidence, a Sheriff's Department investigator said. The evidence will be turned over the the Hinds County District Attorney's Office as part of the case against Franklin, the investigator said.

Franklin's bond was set at $300,000 Tuesday. On Thursday, he was still being held at the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond. The Hinds County Sheriff's Office said that if Franklin is released on bond, he'll be under surveillance.

Smith said Franklin has been suspected in at least 10 slayings or disappearances, but he has never been convicted due to a lack of evidence.

"Back in 1999, they discovered the bodies," Smith said. "There were witnesses who were reluctant to give statements and they had issues with securing evidence."

Faye Peterson, who was the Hinds County district attorney at the time Franklin went to trial, said it was hard to get a conviction because no one would talk about the case. She said they had scattered information that led him to be a person of interest.

"He's one of those individuals that you hate to say you know they'll be back, but you don't want to think about someone else getting hurt," Peterson said. "So that was not the strongest case. The assistant that tried it knew it wasn't, but he was just one of those individuals we really felt strongly that we needed to at least try."

Franklin has been on trial three times for murder and rape charges. He was found not guilty once. The other two cases ended in mistrials.

Hinds County Chief Deputy Steve Pickett said Franklin has been a suspect in an ongoing cold case investigation related to "multiple corpses" found near Bolton in 1999.

Animal Control officials said they called a local rescue group about animals at Franklin's house on Thursday.

The Mississippi Animal Rescue League got a call that there are chickens at his home. WAPT was at Franklin's house Thursday afternoon, and crews reported hearing the chickens.

MARL said the animals can be taken away if there is proof that they have been fighting.

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