Nailah Franklin: Family Fears Foul Play In Woman's Disappearance

[odette]

Family Fears Foul Play In Woman's Disappearance

-- Woman Feared Sleeping In Her Home --

NBC5 - POSTED: 10:42 pm CDT September 20, 2007 - UPDATED: 7:19 am CDT September 21, 2007

CHICAGO -- The family of a missing 28-year-old woman said Thursday they feared for her safety.

Police said Thursday they were looking for Nailah Franklin, who worked for the Eli Lilly drug company. Family and friends said they became concerned when Franklin failed to show up for an important business meeting. They told NBC5's Rob Elgas that they feared foul play.

Franklin's friends and family also said she almost always used her cell phone, but that suddenly stopped.

Police said they were interested in a man Franklin told friends was threatening her last week, Elgas reported. Franklin was so scared, her friends added, that she did not want to sleep in her home, and she also filed a police report. Police did not comment much on that man, but said they were interested in talking to him.

"I do believe that she is alive and we just have to find her," said Lehia Franklin Cox, Nailah's sister. "I do think she is in distress."

Franklin Cox added that, "I don't allow myself to think too much about what could be." .....

Continued:
http://www.nbc5.com/news/14169416/detail.html

[odette]

Businesswoman missing since Tuesday evening

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - Tribune staff report - September 21, 2007

CHICAGO - Police have launched a missing persons investigation for a 28-year-old Chicago woman last heard from earlier this week.

Nailah Franklin, a pharmaceutical representative for Eli Lilly & Co., was last seen Sunday evening, Sgt. Virginia Zic said.

Franklin, who lives in the 1500 block of South Sangamon Street, was last heard from about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday when she sent a text message to her boyfriend, who lives in Milwaukee, Zic said.

Franklin is African-American and described as about 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 110 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, according to a police alert. She drives a company-owned gray 2005 Chevrolet sedan with Illinois license plate 1957855, police said.

Businesswoman missing since Tuesday evening (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-missing_bothsep21,0,290175.story?coll=chi-technology-col)

[odette]

Police Find Missing Chicago Woman's Car Near Abandoned Building

FOX NEWS - Saturday, September 22, 2007

CHICAGO — Police have stepped up their search for a missing pharmaceutical company sales representative after finding the 28-year-old woman's car near an abandoned building.

Nailah Franklin was last heard from Tuesday, when she sent an uncharacteristically vague text message to friends and family saying that she was having dinner and that she'd call later. She never did.

Franklin's sister, Lehia Franklin Acox, said the family is trying to stay positive as police search the 2005 Chevrolet Impala for clues that could shed light on her disappearance.

Being positive "is our only option," Acox said Saturday afternoon ahead of a prayer vigil that evening.

"We're all just trying to keep our spirits up, but it's a challenge," she said.

"This is really taking a toll on us, with every day that passes. We're not sleeping well, we're not eating well," she said.

When Franklin didn't turn up for an important meeting Wednesday morning with her boss at Eli Lilly and Co., where she's a pharmaceutical sales representative, co-workers called family, and family called police. Eli Lilly is based in Indianapolis. Franklin's sales territory covered Chicago's suburbs, her sister said.

Acox said it's unusual for Franklin not to contact her friends or family, leading them all to fear that she didn't leave willingly. Last week, Franklin filed a police report about threatening phone calls she'd received, but she declined to file an order of protection against the alleged offender, a man she'd once dated.

Franklin's car, along with some personal items, was found Friday night near an abandoned building in Hammond, Ind., said Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond. She said the car is being transported to Chicago for forensic and evidence processing.

Several jurisdictions, including Chicago, Hammond, Ind., and the Cook County Sheriff's department are searching for Franklin, Bond said. Divers have also been involved in the search.

Acox said the discovery of the car was heartening because it could yield some clue to Franklin's whereabouts, but "on the other hand, it's still maddening because we do not have (her) back with us."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297720,00.html

http://i12.tinypic.com/4ykj2nm.jpg
Nailah Franklin -- handout photo

[odette]

Cops: Missing woman had complained of calls

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - By Mary Owen and Angela Rozas - Tribune staff reporters - September 22, 2007

Nailah Franklin spent last weekend visiting her boyfriend in Milwaukee and attending a wedding in Lake Geneva before returning to Chicago Sunday night.

Her boyfriend, Andre Wright, said she arrived back home at 8 p.m. and they spoke twice that night. On Monday evening, Wright said, Franklin, 28, was relaxing at home as they chatted on the telephone about their day.

"She was fine," Wright said. "She was her normal, cheerful self."

Franklin's boyfriend was the last of her family and friends to have seen the Eli Lilly and Co. pharmaceutical representative, who has been missing since Tuesday.

Chicago police are trying to speak with many people, including a man they believe made threatening calls to Franklin within the last two weeks. A different woman filed two orders of protection against the man Sept. 12 and 18, according to a source and court records.

Franklin filed a police report last week regarding the calls. Detectives encouraged her to also file an order of protection against the man, but she didn't, said Sgt. Virginia Zic-Schlomas, head of the Special Victims Unit at the Harrison District police station.

Franklin casually dated the man before she met her current boyfriend in June, family members said. "We don't know if the [threatening calls have] anything to do with this," her sister Lehia Franklin A. Cox said.

Wright, who first met Franklin this summer at an art gallery event in Chicago, said Franklin never mentioned the man until the phone calls started. He said the man called multiple times and she did not call him back.

Two friends last spoke to her Tuesday, and three people -- her boss, boyfriend and youngest sister -- received a vague text message that night stating she was at dinner and would call them later, her family said.

She never called. .....

continued:
Cops: Missing woman had complained of calls (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-missing_22sep22,1,604861.story)

[odette]

Police Find Missing Chicago Woman's Car Near Abandoned Building

FOX NEWS - Saturday, September 22, 2007

CHICAGO — Police have stepped up their search for a missing pharmaceutical company sales representative after finding the 28-year-old woman's car near an abandoned building.

Nailah Franklin was last heard from Tuesday, when she sent an uncharacteristically vague text message to friends and family saying that she was having dinner and that she'd call later. She never did.

Franklin's sister, Lehia Franklin Acox, said the family is trying to stay positive as police search the 2005 Chevrolet Impala for clues that could shed light on her disappearance.

Being positive "is our only option," Acox said Saturday afternoon ahead of a prayer vigil that evening.

"We're all just trying to keep our spirits up, but it's a challenge," she said.

"This is really taking a toll on us, with every day that passes. We're not sleeping well, we're not eating well," she said. .....

continued:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297720,00.html

[odette]

Missing Chicago woman’s family says staying positive is their ’only option’

NORTHWEST HERALD - Saturday, September 22, 2007

CHICAGO (AP) — Nailah Franklin’s sister says their family is just trying to stay positive.

Even as the days pass with no word from the 28-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative. Even as Chicago police retrieve her car from Hammond, Ind. — a place to which her sister has no known ties.

Lehia Franklin Acox, Franklin’s sister, says being positive “is our only option.”

“We’re all just trying to keep our spirits up, but it’s a challenge,” Acox said Saturday afternoon ahead of a prayer vigil that evening.

“This is really taking a toll on us, with every day that passes. We’re not sleeping well, we’re not eating well.”

Franklin was last heard from Tuesday, when she sent an uncharacteristically vague text message to friends and family saying that she was having dinner and that she’d call later. She never did.

When she didn’t turn up for an important meeting Wednesday morning with her boss at Eli Lilly and Co., where she’s a pharmaceutical sales representative, co-workers called family, and family called police. Eli Lilly is based in Indianapolis. Franklin’s sales territory covered Chicago’s suburbs, her sister said. .....

continued:
Missing Chicago woman’s family says staying positive is their ’only option’ (http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/09/22/news/state/doc46f57f9505309467864491.txt)

[odette]

Chicago area police step up search for woman

-- Drug company sales representative last seen Tuesday; car found in Indiana --

MSNBC - AP - Updated: 8:49 p.m. ET Sept. 22, 2007 -

MSNBC - VIDEO - Foul play suspected in disappearance
Sept. 22: The family of a missing Chicago woman suspects foul play has led to her disappearance. MSNBC's Alex Witt reports.

CHICAGO - Chicago area police have stepped up their search for a missing Eli Lilly & Co. sales representative after finding her car near an abandoned building in Hammond, Ind.

Nailah Franklin was last heard from Tuesday, when she sent an uncharacteristically vague text message to friends and family saying that she was having dinner and that she'd call later. She never called.

When Franklin didn't turn up for an important meeting Wednesday morning with her boss at Lilly, co-workers at the Indianapolis-based drug company called her family, and the family called police. .....

continued:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20925082/

[odette]

Authorities continue investigation in case of missing woman

ABC7 CHICAGO - By Evelyn Holmes - VIDEO -

September 23, 2007 - The search has intensified for a missing Chicago woman. The 28-year-old's car was found on a street in Hammond, Indiana, but there was no sign of her.

Trinity United Church of Christ, on the city's South Side, dedicated its Sunday evening service to Nailah Franklin, who was last seen Tuesday.

"Nailah, she's coming home that I do know. When? That's not my call. That's God's call. He's in control of this," said Dwayne Johnson, the missing woman's uncle.

Chicago police have a team of forensic investigators searching Nailah Franklin's car for clues on her whereabouts.

ABC7 Chicago spoke with the man who found Franklin's Chevrolet Impala. At first, Hammond Indiana resident Jim Neveau didn't know what he had found when he saw the car. The disabled truck driver says he noticed the car Tuesday as he took his usual walk to a nearby gas station.

"All four windows were down and it was dusty, and there was stuff in the car," he said.

It wasn't until Friday while watching the evening news that Neveau realized that the vehicle could belong to missing Chicago woman Nailah Franklin.

"I said, 'Let me go down and check the plate number, and it was the car. It was the first time I'd heard the plate number, and I found it," Neveau said.

Chicago police investigators towed the car into the city Saturday to process it for evidence, just hours before police divers spent a portion of Saturday morning searching a Cook County forest preserve pond in south suburban Calumet City.

Authorities will not say if they found anything in the car, but relatives say detectives did locate some of Franklin's jewelry, and possibly, one of her missing laptop computers. .....

continued:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5671516

[odette]

Hunt goes on for missing woman

-- MISSING WOMAN | Car, personal effects found in Hammond; divers search pond --

CHICAGO SUN TIMES - BY DAVE NEWBART, MITCH DUDEK, AND MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporters - September 23, 2007

There was still no sign of a 28-year-old University Village woman, missing since Tuesday, after police found her abandoned car in Indiana, police said Saturday.

The woman's car -- a 2005 Chevy Impala -- was found Friday night, outside an abandoned building in Hammond, Chicago Police said. Inside the company car assigned to Nailah Franklin, police found some of her "personal effects,'' spokeswoman Monique Bond said.

Franklin's last contact with friends and family was through text messages allegedly sent Tuesday.

A Hammond man who regularly walks past the place where the car was found said he first noticed the car Tuesday night. But it wasn't until Friday, while watching an evening newscast, that Jim Neveau began to suspect the vehicle was Franklin's.

"I memorized the plate numbers and walked back to the car to check it out, and they were the same," Neveau said Saturday. He said he had a friend call the news station, which then contacted police.

Police towed the car to Chicago to process it for "forensics and evidence processing," Bond said .....

continued:
Hunt goes on for missing woman (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/570921,CST-NWS-MISSING23.article)

http://i12.tinypic.com/4loj6g2.jpg
John-Ashton Allen, brother of Nailah Franklin, stands
with other relatives and friends during a memorial and
march on Saturday night. (Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)

http://i16.tinypic.com/6gapfno.jpg
Nailah Franklin, 28, was last heard from Tuesday. (AP)

http://i14.tinypic.com/5yk3nvc.jpg
Sisters of Nailah Franklin: Ashlee Allen, Ashley Chapelle
and Marina Franklin reflect during a candlelight vigil in
front of Nailah's home off of Halsted Street.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)

[odette]

Missing woman's car found in Hammond

BY KIRSTEN SRINIVASAN - kirsten.srinivasan@nwitimes.com - Sunday, September 23, 2007 12:01 AM CDT

A missing Chicago woman's car was found Friday night in Hammond, and divers searched a Calumet City pond looking for the woman on Saturday morning.

Jim Neveau, 47, of Hammond, said he spotted Nailah Franklin's car parked near Blaine Avenue and Kenwood Street in Hammond.

When the 28-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative didn't turn up for an important meeting Wednesday morning with her boss at Eli Lilly and Co., co-workers called family, and family called police. Eli Lilly is based in Indianapolis. Franklin's sales territory covered Chicago's suburbs, her sister said.

Neveau first noticed the black Chevy Impala with all four windows rolled down on Tuesday evening, he said, and after hearing about Franklin's disappearance on the news on Friday night, he checked the license plate and called police.

"I just hope they find her alive," he said. "I was so glad when they opened the trunk ... that she wasn't in there."

The car was dusty, but other than a few white paint scrapes, the car didn't show any obvious signs of trouble, Neveau said.

The car was parked in front of a house at 6311 Blaine Ave., which neighbors said had been vacant for a few months.

Several jurisdictions including Chicago and Hammond police and Cook County sheriff's and forest preserve officers are searching for Franklin, Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. The FBI also has been involved.

As part of the investigation, authorities searched a small lagoon about 10 a.m. Saturday at the River Oaks Golf Course property at 1 Park Ave. in Calumet City, Calumet City police Investigator Marco Glumac said. .....

continued:
Missing woman's car found in Hammond (http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2007/09/23/news/illiana/docde378aef45f7dd548625735f0010ddaa.txt)

[odette]

MISSING WOMAN

BET.COM - By Ed Wiley III, BET.com Staff Writer

UPDATED Sept. 24, 2007 - Family and friends of a Nailah Franklin held a prayer vigil in Chicago this weekend as police continue combing through clues for what happened to the 28-year-old pharmaceutical sales rep.

Meanwhile, police found the woman’s car near an abandoned building on Saturday.

Franklin, who has been missing since last Tuesday, is about 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 110 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes and works for Eli Lilly & Co. Police say she left text messages for friends and family, which were both vague and uncharacteristic, saying she was having dinner and that she’d call later.

Earlier, TV station CBS2 in Chicago told police that Franklin's friend, Dana McClellan, told police that Franklin had been receiving phone messages from a man she once dated. "I heard it, I heard the message," said McClellan. She said the message contained the following: "Basically 'I could do harm to you. You haven't seen that side, of me but I do have a bad side, and I could do harm to you.'"

Franklin's sister, Lehia Franklin Acox, said the family is trying to stay positive as police search Franklin’s 2005 Chevrolet Impala for fingerprints and other clues. “Our only option” is to remain positive, Acox told The Associated Press shortly before the vigil. "We're all just trying to keep our spirits up, but it's a challenge," she said. "This is really taking a toll on us, with every day that passes. We're not sleeping well, we're not eating well.”

Franklin lives in the 1500 block of South Sangamon Street. According to CBS2 in Chicago, “she is bright, beautiful and successful, living in a nice building in the trendy new neighborhood near the University of Illinois at Chicago. The last thing her family and friends expected was for her to just disappear.” .....

continued:
MISSING WOMAN (http://www.bet.com/News/Police+AskforHelpToFindMissingChicagoWoman.htm?wbc _purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished&Referrer=%7B9624097D-F2F3-4D5C-B513-798AEAD259B7%7D)

[odette]

Prayer is part of effort to find Chicago woman

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - By Jeff Long Tribune staff reporter - September 24, 2007 - VIDEO -

With no new developments in the case of a Chicago woman who has been missing since Tuesday, the family of Nailah Franklin turned for spiritual help from their South Side church Sunday as they held out hope that she would be found alive.

"We need to keep this front and center," said Franklin's sister, Lehia Franklin Acox, as the family prepared Sunday for a 6 p.m. service at Trinity United Church of Christ on West 95th Street, where Franklin is part of the 8,000-member congregation.

Police continued to investigate the case, but said they had no new information to release Sunday. Among the leads are threatening calls Franklin received in the last two weeks. The man who allegedly made those calls, whom police have not publicly identified, had orders of protection filed against him by another woman on Sept. 12 and 18, according to court records and a source.

Pastor Otis Moss was expected to deliver a special prayer for Franklin and her family during the evening service Sunday at Trinity United.

Franklin's sister said that friends and relatives have been asking churches across the area to spread the word about the ongoing search for clues, and to offer prayers.

"It really did my heart good that Nailah's name was being offered up for prayers," Acox said.

Franklin, 28, an Eli Lilly and Co. pharmaceutical representative, has been missing since Tuesday, after spending the weekend with her boyfriend in Milwaukee and attending a wedding in Lake Geneva. Police have said the boyfriend, Andre Wright of Milwaukee, is not a suspect in the case.

"He seems to care for my sister a lot," Acox said. "He has been handing out fliers, and he's calling hospitals. .....

continued:
Prayer is part of effort to find Chicago woman (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-franklin_websep24,1,7286252.story)

[odette]

Family embraced in prayer

-- Church asks for help in finding woman --

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - By Kristen Kridel and Jeff Long Tribune staff reporters - September 24, 2007

Hundreds of people stretched their arms out Sunday evening over the family of Nailah Franklin. Palms flat, they closed their eyes and prayed with the pastor of her South Side church.

"You have better than 20/20 vision," Rev. Otis Moss III, pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ, said in prayer. "We come now asking you to dispatch your angels. Send them to bring our sister Nailah back home."

With no new developments in the case of the 28-year-old Chicago woman, who has been missing since Tuesday, Franklin's family turned for spiritual help from fellow worshipers as they held out hope that she would be found alive.

"It really did my heart good that Nailah's name was being offered up for prayers," said Franklin's sister, Lehia Franklin Acox.

Police, who continue to investigate, said they had no new information to release Sunday.

Among the leads are threatening calls Franklin received in the last two weeks. The caller, whom police have not identified publicly, had orders of protection filed against him by another woman on Sept. 12 and 18, according to court records and a source.

Moss challenged those listening to the church service, which was attended by at least 800 and broadcast on the Internet and radio, not to go a single day without praying for Franklin and her family.

"We want to pray to the one whose eyes see from everlasting to everlasting," the pastor said. "Something happens when we pray together." .....

continued:
Family embraced in prayer (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearwest/chi-franklin24sep24,1,5575515.story)

[odette]

Family keeps hopes up

-- S. SIDE | Search pressed for missing woman --

BY ART GOLAB Staff Reporter agolab@suntimes.com - September 24, 2007

On Sunday -- the fifth day since 28-year-old Nailah Franklin's disappearance -- her friends and family gathered at her South Side church to pray, pass out yellow ribbons and express hope she is still alive.

Though there was no further news about Franklin since her abandoned car was found Friday in Hammond, Ind., family members said they see the car being found as a good sign.

"The car gives us more hope. That's just one step we don't have to go back over," Franklin's uncle Dwayne Johnson said just before the evening prayer service at Trinity United Church of Christ.

The family had spent the day with more than 100 volunteers passing out fliers at other churches and at major South Side intersections.

"This is our time to show solidarity with each other and to pray for Nailah's safe return," said Franklin's sister Lehia Franklin Acox.

As members entered the church, Franklin's family and friends passed out yellow ribbons. .....

continued:
Family keeps hopes up (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/571490,CST-NWS-vigil24.article)

[odette]

Church holds prayer vigil for missing woman - 28-year-old's car found in Indiana

ABC7 CHICAGO - By Evelyn Holmes - VIDEO -

September 24, 2007 - A South Side congregation held a prayer vigil for a 28-year-old woman who last seen on Tuesday.

Trinity United Church of Christ, which is located at 400 W. 95th Street, prayed for Nailah Franklin to return safely.

"Nailah, she's coming home that I do know. When? That's not my call. That's God's call. He's in control of this," said Dwayne Johnson, the missing woman's uncle.

Franklin's car was found in Hammond, Indiana, this weekend. But there was no sign of her.

Police also searched a pond in Calumet City after some of her personal belongings were found nearby. .....

continued:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5672006

[odette]

NBC5 - VIDEO - Missing Woman's Family Prays - September - 24 - 2007

As newfound evidence is reviewed by police, Nailah Franklin's family prays for her safe return.

http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=159686

[odette]

Police Search Lakeshore For Missing Woman

CBS2 CHICAGO - Joanie Lum - Sep 24, 2007 9:16 am US/Central

(CBS) CHICAGO - Chicago police are scouring the Lake Michigan shoreline Monday morning in the search for a Chicago woman who has been missing for nearly a week.

It was a very difficult weekend for the family of a missing Chicago woman.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum that hundreds of people close to Nailah Franklin spent the weekend handing out flyers and praying for her safe return. On Monday, Chicago police began performing "surface searches" on all 27 miles of local shoreline.

The police Marine Unit has been using boats to perform "surface searches" from Evanston to Calumet Harbor, Ind. on and near the Lake Michigan shoreline, according to Marine Unit Sgt. Robert Fitzsimmons on Monday morning.

"With the boat we run a couple hundred yards off shore, by the bricks and boulders, where you can’t see," according to the sergeant. "We haven’t done actual dives."

The process has been made "a little harder" because searchers don’t have an exact address of where the woman was last seen. Fitzsimmons could not confirm a report the woman’s purse was found in Chicago.

Meanwhile, in the University Village neighborhood where Nailah Franklin has a condo, there are signs, pictures and yellow ribbons posted everywhere for the missing woman. .....

continued:
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_267080755.html

[odette]

Marine Unit searches shoreline for missing woman

S. SIDE | Search pressed for missing woman

CHICAGO SUN TIMES - FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS - September 24, 2007

The Chicago Police Marine Unit has been performing "surface searches" on all 27 miles of local shoreline for a missing Chicago woman whose car was found in Hammond, Ind. over the weekend.

The police Marine Unit has been using boats to perform "surface searches" from Evanston to Calumet Harbor, Ind. on and near the Lake Michigan shoreline, about 27 miles, according to Marine Unit Sgt. Robert Fitzsimmons on Monday morning.

"With the boat we run a couple hundred yards off shore, by the bricks and boulders, where you can’t see," according to the sergeant. "We haven’t done actual dives." .....

continued:
Marine Unit searches shoreline for missing woman (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/571490,CST-NWS-vigil24.article)

[odette]

Hunt intensifies for missing woman

SOUTH SIDE | Cops tap FBI resources, seek info on date who made threatening calls

BY ANNIE SWEENEY Crime Reporter asweeney@suntimes.com - September 25, 2007

High-tech equipment from federal authorities will be brought in to assist police in the investigation into a missing Chicago businesswoman, officials said Monday.

Nailah Franklin, 28, was reported missing Sept. 19. Since then a pond in Calumet City has been searched and her car was recovered in Hammond.

Now Chicago Police are using FBI resources and equipment to further the search.

Awaiting tests from car
Finding out what happened to Franklin will depend largely on physical evidence, sources said. Detectives were still waiting for forensic tests to be finished on Franklin's car. They also were tracing Franklin's last steps and checking security tapes from her condominium building in the 1500 block of South Sangamon.

Two laptops were missing from the condo: her work and her personal computer, her family said. .....

continued:
Hunt intensifies for missing woman (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/572702,CST-NWS-missing25.article)

[odette]

Family steps up its search for missing star

Police follow leads in hunt for woman who is 'larger than life'

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - By Angela Rozas | Tribune staff reporter - September 25, 2007 - VIDEO

She is her family's "it girl." The life of the party, the first to push her sisters to go to a spa, to take a trip, to do something fun.

Five days after reporting Nailah Franklin missing, her family members say their sister's energy and fighting spirit are helping them have faith she could still be alive.

"We all believe our girl, Nailah, is such a strong fighter. She's somewhere hurt and is alive and kicking and waiting for us to get to her," her sister Lehia Franklin Acox said Monday as she and other family members passed out fliers in downtown Chicago. .....

EXCERPT: A graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School who earned a bachelor's degree in advertising at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Nailah's name literally means "one who succeeds," said her sister, Marina Franklin.

Franklin, who has four siblings, took her first job after college in 2001 as an assistant advertising executive at Leo Burnett. She worked for five years at the company."She was an incredibly sharp, smart, dynamic person, a successful businesswoman," said her boss, account director Cindy Blikre. "She had really so much to offer ... has so much to offer the world."

After Leo Burnett, Franklin went to work for Eli Lilly as a pharmaceutical saleswoman, a job she loved, her sisters said. She is a conscientious worker, who kept on top of details and never would have missed a company meeting, her family said.

She was last seen Sept. 16 after she spent the weekend with her boyfriend of three months and attended a friend's wedding. Police have said her boyfriend is not believed to be involved in her disappearance.

Text messages from her phone sent to family said she was having dinner Tuesday and would call them back. Nobody heard from her again. Her personal and work laptops were missing from her West Loop condominium, but a security key she needed for her work computer had been left. There was no sign of a struggle, her family said.

continued:
Family steps up its search for missing star (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northshore/chi-franklin25sep25,1,3901440.story?ctrack=1&cset=true)

[odette]

Search continues for missing woman

-- Police question woman's ex-boyfriend --

ABC7 CHICAGO - VIDEO

September 25, 2007 - As the search continues for a Chicago woman who disappeared one week ago today, police question a man in connection to her disappearance.

Nailah Franklin -- 28-year-old pharmaceuticals sales rep -- disappeared last Tuesday.

Chicago police say they brought Franklin's ex-boyfriend in for questioning Monday night and sent him home following that interview. Police are not calling him a suspect.

A few days before she disappeared, Franklin filed a police report saying she had been receiving threatening phone calls from a man she used to date. .....

continued:
Search continues for missing woman (http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5673869)

[odette]

Nailah Franklin's brother, "she is always happy."

WQAD - Posted 9/24/2007 5:50p - by Kristy Mergenthal

MOLINE, Illinois -- Friends and family last saw Nailah six days ago and her brother living in Moline hopes the Quad Cities can help find his sister.

Nailah's only brother John Ashton Allen smoothing out the tape on her missing posters, one of thousands hanging in Illinois.

"I know Nailah is still alive and wherever she is or whoever has her we just want her home."

Described as a fun loving big sister John says Nailah is always happy making sure he never felt left out being the only brother.

"She just kind of always makes you feel better whenever she's around" said John. .....

continued:
Nailah Franklin's brother, "she is always happy." (http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=7122187)

[odette]

Family embraced in prayer

-- Church asks for help in finding woman --

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - By Kristen Kridel and Jeff Long | Tribune staff reporters - September 24, 2007

Hundreds of people stretched their arms out Sunday evening over the family of Nailah Franklin. Palms flat, they closed their eyes and prayed with the pastor of her South Side church.

"You have better than 20/20 vision," Rev. Otis Moss III, pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ, said in prayer. "We come now asking you to dispatch your angels. Send them to bring our sister Nailah back home."

With no new developments in the case of the 28-year-old Chicago woman, who has been missing since Tuesday, Franklin's family turned for spiritual help from fellow worshipers as they held out hope that she would be found alive. .....

EXCERPT: Parishioners of the 8,000-member congregation who do not know Franklin said they came to the service to pray for her and her family.

"I can't imagine what they're going through," said Paula Dixon.

Dixon, who attended a Saturday evening vigil held in Franklin's honor, called the woman's family members "the picture of grace."

Members of the church, 400 W. 95th St., handed out yellow ribbons and fliers with Franklin's smiling face and a description of the woman and her car.

Franklin's sister said friends and relatives have been asking churches across the area to spread the word about the search for clues and to offer prayers. "We need to keep this front and center," Acox said.

Standing in front of the church, Acox described the roller coaster of feelings she has been experiencing. "It's terrifying," she said. Sometimes, "I know for certain she's going to walk through the door. Other times the dark thoughts take over."

continued:
Family embraced in prayer (http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/chi-franklin24sep24,0,707448.story?coll=chi-newsopinion-utl)

http://i20.tinypic.com/15320s2.jpg
Rhonda Finklea (center), a friend of Nailah Franklin, holds a box of
yellow ribbons to be handed out at Trinity United Church of Christ in
Chicago on Sunday.
(Tribune photo by Stacey Wescott / September 23, 2007)

[odette]

Search Continues for Missing Chicago Woman

WHPTV - Last Update: 11:12 am - United Press International

28-year-old Nailah Franklin's family and friends continue to search for the Chicago pharmaceutical rep. who has been missing since last Tuesday.

Over 10,000 flyers have been passed out in her University Village neighborhood and hundreds of people gathered for a special prayer service Sunday at her South Side church. .....

Search Continues for Missing Chicago Woman (http://www.whptv.com/news/world/story.aspx?content_id=31f7b743-a2a2-40dc-ae06-001ad26e6696)

http://i20.tinypic.com/4udnuu
Nailah Franklin

[odette]

Man Questioned In Franklin Case Says He's Innocent

-- Suspect Has A Record; Franklin Filed A Police Report Against Him 2 Weeks Ago --

CBS2 CHICAGO - Dorothy Tucker - Sep 25, 2007 4:43 pm US/Central

(CBS) CHICAGO -- The exhaustive search for a missing Chicago women now enters its second week. Tuesday evening, CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker is learning more about a former friend of Nailah Franklin, who says he is cooperating with police and has nothing to hide.

Since Nailah Franklin disappeared last Tuesday investigators have reviewed the surveillance tape taken from the lobby of her apartment complex; they've examined articles removed from her apartment; and they've questioned many of her acquaintances, including a man Franklin filed a police report against two weeks ago. She accused the man of threatening her. .....

continued:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_268174841.html

[odette]

Missing woman's family offers reward, creating Web site

ABC7 - WLS - By Leah Hope

September 25, 2007 - As the search continues for a Chicago woman who disappeared one week ago Tuesday, her family is offering a reward and building a Web site to help bring her home. .....

continued:
Missing woman's family offers reward, creating Web site (http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5673869)

[odette]

http://i22.tinypic.com/64dt9f.jpg

[odette]

Reward Offered In Search For Nailah Franklin

WMAQ-TV—Chicago, IL - Updated: 10:52 p.m. ET Sept. 25, 2007

Images: Woman Disappears
Video: Evidence Found
Video: Family Asks For Help

CHICAGO - The family of a missing Chicago woman announced a reward Tuesday for information leading to her return.

Nailah Franklin disappeared a week ago. A pharmaceutical representative for Eli Lilly & Co., Franklin was last heard from the night of Sept. 18, when she text-messaged her boyfriend at about 8:15 p.m. to say she was at dinner and would call when she was done, Chicago police said. The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Franklin. .....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20980717

http://bringnailahfranklinhome.com/

[odette]

Milwaukee Link To Missing Chicago Woman

MSNBC - WTMJ-TV and JSOnline.com

CHICAGO – A Milwaukee man joins the search for his girlfriend, missing in the Chicago area. Twenty-eight-year-old Nailah Franklin works in the Chicago area, but her boyfriend is from Milwaukee.

That Milwaukee man is Andre Wright. Police believe he was the last person to hear from Franklin Tuesday night through a text message. Now, he and others hope to hear from her again. A desperate search in Chicago.

Family and friends spent Friday handing out fliers with Nailah Franklin’s picture on it. “This is real. It’s real. My reaction is of shock,” Franklin's uncle Duane Johnson said. While Franklin’s boyfriend Andre Wright did not want to go on camera, her uncle Duane Johnson did. He says they’re praying for good news, and soon. “I think the sooner, the better. .....

continued:
http://0-www.msnbc.msn.com.millennium.unicatt.it/id/20905539

[odette]

Family of Missing Chicago Woman Offers $10,000 Reward

FOX NEWS - Wednesday, September 26, 2007 - Watch the report on MyFOXChicago.com.

CHICAGO — The family of a missing Chicago woman was offering a $10,000 reward seeking information about her disappearance.

Nailah Franklin, 28, a pharmaceutical sales representative for Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, was last heard from a week ago. Police found her car in Hammond, Ind., Friday night near an abandoned building.

Chicago police interviewed a man last week but have not named him a suspect. Franklin filed a police report about threatening phone calls she said she received from the man. The man told FOX Chicago that he was not involved in her disappearance and offered to take a polygraph test.

continued:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298101,00.html

http://www.bringnailahfranklinhome.com/

[odette]

Still missing

chicagodefender - by Kathy Chaney - September 25, 2007

Although the disappearance of 28-year-old Nailah Franklin has yet to be classified as a kidnapping, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is lending its resources to the Chicago Police Department as it continues the search for the West Side woman.

The Eli Lily & Co. pharmaceutical sales rep has not been seen or heard from in more than a week. Family and friends have saturated Chicago and surrounding suburban communities with more than 10,000 fliers. Some have been distributed in nearby Hammond, Ind. As that is where Chicago Police recovered her vehicle.

Her family is building a website to help broaden the appeal and generate more interest. At least two nationally televised shows and a crime prevention organization also volunteered their expertise.

The FBI's involvement does not lessen the CPD's role in the search.

"We will help the police in any way possible regarding Nailah Franklin. All questions about the investigation still need to be referred to Chicago police; they are the lead agency on the case," Cynthia Yates, spokeswoman for the FBI, told the Defender. ....

continued:
http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/local.cfm?ArticleID=9855

[odette]

Q-C relatives of missing woman aiding in search

Q-C Online - Sept. 25, 2007; 10:35 p.m. -- Updated 1:35 p.m.

Quad-Cities relatives of a missing Chicago woman are assisting in the week-long search, which includes a Web site, an appeal for the public's help, and a $10,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.

They held a prayer vigil Wednesday at Moline High School. .....

continued:
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=355802

[odette]

'They know in their hearts Nailah is alive'

-- MISSING WOMAN | Close-knit family continues search --

BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter mihejirika@suntimes.com - September 26, 2007

One of four sisters who are more like friends, Nailah Franklin would gather with the girls around the piano at "Grandma Moot's" house during holidays, and sing.

A couple would be off key, but it didn't matter. The family's happiest times were at the home of Franklin's hero -- as she describes her late grandmother on MySpace.

Just last year, Franklin and her family encircled each other when their matriarch died -- scant weeks behind their grandfather. .....

continued:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/574549,CST-NWS-missing26.article

[odette]

Searchers Comb Golf Course In Search Of Missing Woman

-- Family Offers Reward Of $10,000 --

nbc5.com - UPDATED: 8:46 pm CDT September 26, 2007 - Slideshow

CALUMET CITY, Ill. -- More than 100 searchers convened on River Oaks Golf Course to look for Nailah Franklin, 28, a Chicago woman who has been missing for one week.

Franklin was last heard from a week ago. Her car was found in Hammond with her possessions inside.

Investigators and searchers in camouflage on searched the golf course Wednesday in what police called a "revisited" search of "common sense areas." .....

continued:
http://www.nbc5.com/news/14214111/detail.html

[odette]

bringnailahfranklinhome

http://bringnailahfranklinhome.com/content/

[Moms4Justice]

A body has been found in a forest preserve near where her car was found. They have not confirmed it is in fact Nailah yet.
So sad, she is so Beautiful. :rose:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298249,00.html

[odette]

Body found in Calumet City

By Jeremy Gorner | Tribune staff reporter
9:34 AM CDT, September 27, 2007 - Video

A body was found this morning in an area of Calumet City where police have been searching for Nailah Franklin, a Chicago woman missing for about a week.

Calumet City police could not specify the gender of the body found in the area of the Wentworth Woods Forest Preserve. Chicago police also were on the scene.

Authorities have been searching the Calumet City area over the last several days for Franklin, 28, who was reported missing Sept. 19 after failing to show up for a business meeting. Her car was found abandoned in Hammond on Saturday. .....

continued:
Body found in Calumet City (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-body-found_websep28,0,1170707.story?coll=chi_tab03_layo ut)

[odette]

Body found in Calumet City

abclocal.go.com

September 27, 2007 - Authorities have found a body in Calumet City not far from an area they were searching in connection to a missing persons case.

The body was discovered behind an abandoned restaurant on River Oaks Drive in Calumet City Thursday morning. It has yet to be identified, but is a female, according to officials. .....

continued:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5677944

[odette]

Police Confirm Found Body That Of 'Unclothed Female'

Crime Scene Location Not Far From Nailah Franklin Search Site

NBC5 - UPDATED: 9:38 am CDT September 27, 2007

CHICAGO -- The Calumet City police chief confirmed Thursday morning that officers discovered an unclothed female body behind a vacant business in that southwest suburb.

He refrained from sharing further specifics regarding the body.

Police continue investigating a crime scene at 260 River Oaks Drive, according to Calumet City Police officer Adam Ziminski. Police said the body was found at about 5 a.m.

A Calumet City police dispatcher said police had been searching the area throughout the night.

The body was found at the River Oaks Drive address, about half way between where police found possessions belonging to Nailah Franklin, a missing Chicago woman, and the woman's car, according to NBC5's Kim Vatis. .....

continued
http://www.nbc5.com/news/14216247/detail.html

[odette]

Body Confirmed as Missing Chicago Woman

Police Find Body Near Site Where Missing Saleswoman's Car Was Found

CALUMET CITY, Ill. Sep 27, 2007 (AP)

Family members say the body found in suburban Chicago early today is that of a missing Chicago woman.

Dwayne Johnson tells WFLD-TV today that authorities have confirmed that his niece, 28-year-old Nailah Franklin, is dead. .....

continued
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3659475

[dallasvic]

Body Confirmed as Missing Chicago Woman

Police Find Body Near Site Where Missing Saleswoman's Car Was Found

CALUMET CITY, Ill. Sep 27, 2007 (AP)

Family members say the body found in suburban Chicago early today is that of a missing Chicago woman.

Dwayne Johnson tells WFLD-TV today that authorities have confirmed that his niece, 28-year-old Nailah Franklin, is dead. .....

continued
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3659475

Hi Odette,

I have been keeping up with this since I read it on CL Latest News. She was so young and had a great career ahead of her. I think it said she had reported threating phone calls. At one point I believe it was a Ex-boyfriend.What ever the case maybe I sure hope they catch him soon.
Looking forward to see if this person gets what they deserve

[odette]

Sad End To Story Of Missing Chicago Woman

Family Says A Body Found In A Suburban Forest Is That Of 28-Year-Old Nailah Franklin

cbsnews.com - CALUMET CITY, Ill., Sept. 27, 2007

(AP) A family member says a body found today near a suburban Chicago forest preserve is that of a missing 28-year-old woman - but police wouldn't immediately confirm the identification.

Nailah Franklin's uncle, Jon Merrill, and family friend Andrew Holmes told WFLD-TV that authorities have confirmed the body is Franklin's.

Neither Chicago nor Calumet City police would immediately confirm the identification.

Franklin's family gathered Thursday near where Calumet City Police Chief Russell Larson said officers discovered a woman's unclothed body. Bond said the body was discovered about 4:46 a.m. .....

http://i24.tinypic.com/2m2t72a.jpg
Law enforcement authorities gather at the
scene where the body of a woman was found
on the edge of a forest preserve Thursday,
Sept. 27, 2007, in Calumet City, Ill. not far
from where a Nailah Franklin's car had been
abandoned. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/27/national/main3305645.shtml

[odette]

Moline students rally around Nailah Franklin's half-brother

qconline.com - September 27, 2007 5:45 PM

A young man stopped to look at the poster of the missing woman as the hallway swelled with onlookers.

"I hope she's OK," one girl said to the three she was walking behind.

Fast forward ...

At 7 the following morning, a large crowd had gathered about the flagpole at Moline High School. People had come to offer inspiration, prayers and support to a fellow student and his family. Some knew John-Ashton Allen; some didn't. What everyone knew was that another student, another teenager, was hurting. All anyone on hand wanted to do was help.

That morning, John-Ashton Allen was besieged with hugs. His mother, Shelita Hodo, in between making yellow ribbons for members of the crowd to wear, was reassured many times that all would be well.

Hope was everywhere. Hope that Nailah Franklin, John-Ashton Allen's 28-year-old half-sister, who had disappeared a week prior, would be OK.

Sadly, a woman's body was found in a Calumet City, Ill., forest preserve Thursday morning, a day after the morning vigil. Details are sketchy, but all signs point to foul play. One family member said it was Nailah, but positive identification had not been made Thursday evening.

I'm sorry. Sorry for the half-brother, a straight-A student at Moline High School who, over and over, kept telling me he knew his sister would walk back into his life and things would be normal. .....

continued
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=356051

[odette]

Body found in Cal City ID'd as Nailah Franklin

From Southtown wire reports - September 28, 2007

A badly decomposed body found behind a vacant business in Calumet City is that of a Chicago woman reported missing nine days ago, authorities say.

Dental records were used to identify the body of Nailah Franklin, 28, who was reported missing Sept. 19 after she didn’t show up for a work meeting, Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. The cause of death was inconclusive, Bond said.

Bond said investigators have not determined where the woman died, and department investigators are working with the FBI and the Calumet City Police Department. She said the case is being characterized as a death investigation, not a homicide investigation, because the cause of death had not yet been determined. .....

continued
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/579368,dst_calautopsy_928.article

[odette]

Brother of Nailah Franklin reacts

wqad.com - by Pam Cunningham - Posted: 9/28/2007 11:10p

VIDEO - Brother of Nailah Franklin reacts

MOLINE, Illinois-- For a week her family hoped they would bring her home. But Friday police say the search for Nailah Frankin is over.

After more than a week of searching, police in Chicago say the body found yesterday is indeed 28-year-old Nailah Franklin.

A police spokeswoman says dental records and an autopsy were used to identify the 28-year old. Franklin was reported missing September 19th by her boss when she didn't show up for her job in pharmacutical sales.

Police found her car last week in Hammond, Indiana. And Friday her family found out the news.
Her brother here in Moline says, "I was really hopeful that she was still alive. Now, that I know she's not, I want to stay positive."

John-Ashton Allen was in physics class at Moline High School when he found out about his sister.

"I don't have any anger in my heart. I don't know who did this but it's not going to solve anything me hating them or anything like that. But I just want that person caught cause you don't know when they could try to do this again somebody like that doesn't need to be on the streets." .....

continued
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=7145392&nav=menu132_3

[odette]

Body found but answers still missing

By Angela Rozas and Monique Garcia | Tribune staff reporters - September 29, 2007

Her family had hoped and prayed for a week that their "it girl" would be found alive. They believed Nailah Franklin's feisty, fighting spirit would give her the strength to make it through whatever circumstances were keeping her from them.

In the meantime, they kept busy, posting thousands of fliers around Chicago and making television appearances nightly until her smiling face was known nationwide.

But those hopes were dashed Friday when authorities identified a body found in Calumet City as that of Franklin, 28, a pharmaceutical representative reported missing Sept. 19.

Her naked body was found before dawn Thursday in a densely wooded area partially buried behind a vacant building, within miles of where police found her car Saturday in nearby Hammond. A pair of earphones dangling in a tree led two police officers to her body.

The discovery brought to an end what had become a massive community search for the woman, but marked the start of another sad quest -- figuring out what happened to a woman her family called their "it girl," their "star."

An autopsy performed Friday by the Cook County medical examiner's office did not reveal a cause of death. Chicago police, who have not ruled the case a homicide, remain the lead investigators because authorities don't know where she died.

Her body, badly decomposed after being exposed to rain and heat, had to be identified through dental records Friday morning. But a law enforcement source said she was not shot or stabbed.

Police said they are pursuing leads in Franklin's death. They are testing forensic evidence from her body and vehicle and reviewing surveillance video taken from across the street where Franklin's body was found. .....

continued
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-franklin_29sep29,1,4193286.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

[odette]

Family's hope, fear -- then horrible news

S. SIDE | Body in woods identified as missing Nailah Franklin

SUNTIMES - BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA, ANNIE SWEENEY AND NORMAN PARISH Staff Reporters - September 29, 2007

The next day -- Friday -- they would know if the body found in a wooded area was their Nailah, their feisty, successful go-getter.

But there was the hurdle of Thursday night -- the sleeplessness and fear that gripped members of Nailah Franklin's family.

"It's the fear that this was inevitable, the not wanting to accept it -- the holding out hope, while scared," Franklin's uncle Dwayne Johnson said, describing the night before they received the horrible news.

Family had surrounded Franklin's mother, Maria Merrill, and her father, Lee Franklin. Her four sisters had holed up at the home of big sister Lehia Franklin Acox, who for nine days had stoically asserted that their sister would be found alive.

And at his own home, throughout the night, Johnson paced.

"There's this disbelief. You're wondering: 'Are we dreaming? Maybe we'll wake up from this dream. Maybe she'll walk through that door.' "

Then came dawn, and no word.

"We thought we'd have word by 10:30. So we thought, 'Maybe it's not Nailah.' Then 11:30 rolled around, and noon. Now you're thinking, 'Maybe it's really not her. Just maybe.'"

Then came the call at 12:30 p.m., and the loss of hope.

"When you hear it, it's like, 'Dear God, no. Not Nailah. Not Nailah.'"

The body of Nailah Franklin was identified by authorities Friday, and her family began living their worst nightmare. .....

continued
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/580074,CST-NWS-missing29.article

[odette]

http://i22.tinypic.com/negqq0.jpg
Nailah Franklin :rose:

[odette]

Family of Chicago woman grieving, planning memorial

abclocal.go.com - By Evelyn Holmes - Video

September 29, 2007 - The family of Nailah Franklin was in seclusion Saturday after receiving the news they dreaded. Their loved one's body was found Friday behind an abandoned restaurant in Calumet City. Franklin's uncle says the family is making arrangements for a memorial.

As relatives grieve and struggle with the tragedy, the official investigation continues. Chicago police will only say they have launched a death investigation because an autopsy performed did not reveal a cause of death. Sources close to the investigation say she was not shot or stabbed. Officials used dental records to identify Nailah's remains. .....

continued
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5682161

[odette]

Authorities Confirm Body Is Missing Woman's

wbbm780.com - Posted: Saturday, 29 September 2007 9:01AM

CHICAGO (CBS 2) -- The grieving family of Nailah Franklin reached out Friday night to thank all those who helped the search and prayed for her safe return.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, the missing woman's body has been identified and police are now investigating her death.

Nine days of hope that Nailah Franklin would be found alive ended tragically in the south suburbs.

Investigators confirmed a naked, badly decomposed body found behind a vacant Calumet City business Thursday morning was that of the Chicago woman.

The medical examiner used dental records to positively identify the badly decomposed body as Nailah Franklin. The body might have been in the location where it was found for a week.

But the autopsy was unable to pinpoint a cause of death. That means, for now, police are calling this a death investigation, not a homicide case. .....

http://i24.tinypic.com/20h4u9s.jpg

continued
http://www.wbbm780.com/Authorities-Confirm-Body-Is-Missing-Woman-s/1022609

[dallasvic]

http://i22.tinypic.com/negqq0.jpg
:rose: My Heart&Prayers Are With The Family:rose:
:rose: May She Rest In PEACE:rose:
:rose: Beautiful Life Lost In Her Prime:rose:

[odette]

Crusade to find missing Nailah made us care

Black families push to get coverage of disappearances

BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist - October 2, 2007

The relatives of Nailah Franklin are living a family's worst nightmare. Last Friday, an unclothed body that was discovered in the Calumet Woods was identified as the 28-year-old Franklin. With her fashion model looks, Franklin has been described as the "star" of her close-knit family.

Franklin was reported missing Sept. 19.

Like most parents, I worry about my adult daughters because, unfortunately, there is too much mayhem in the world. I don't think my family is much different from a lot of others.

And while every missing person is neither pretty or even lovable, if someone we love goes missing, we want police to turn over every stone. We want our friends and our neighbors to fan out across the city and join in the search. We want that person's face plastered on national news programs as well as in the local papers.

She was not seen in the same light

Yet, too often when young black women disappear, none of those things happen without the family waging a crusade.

These relatives have to scuffle to get alerts posted, and when the police department distributes the alert, it is still a fight to get the notice in a newspaper.

Franklin's disappearance didn't follow that pattern for several reasons.

First, she was a very attractive black woman who came from a middle-class background.

As such, her disappearance didn't get typecast as a throwaway. Franklin wasn't seen in the same light as the troubled black women who walked the streets in neighborhoods like Roseland and Englewood and ended up being found dead in abandoned buildings without anyone knowing they were missing.

Neither was Franklin's disappearance viewed in the same way as law enforcement views the average teenage runaway. Although many of the parents and guardians of these young people do their best to get media attention, their pleas are routinely ignored. And while police will pick up runaways if they happen to bump into them, they don't make it a priority to locate teens who bolt from their homes.

Franklin's relatives and friends made sure her plight was not ignored. Her sister, Lehia Franklin Acox, used her media contacts to ensure that photographs of her missing sister were widely circulated. For consecutive days, Nailah's beautiful smile graced the front pages, while updates of the search aired regularly on national news programs.

This is a significant change from just four years ago. .....

continued
Crusade to find missing Nailah made us care (http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/583278,CST-NWS-mitch02.article)

[dallasvic]

I hope they find the killer soon

[odette]

Family, friends, strangers mourn

By Kristen Kridel | Tribune staff reporter - 10:20 PM CDT, October 3, 2007

Nailah Franklin understood the power of photographs, taking many of her family and friends in an ongoing effort to keep everybody close, one of her sisters told a crowd of more than 1,000 gathered Wednesday night for her funeral service.

"Even today Nailah is bringing people together," Marina Franklin said in Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W. 95th St.

What Nailah Franklin, 28, couldn't have known before her body was found Sept. 27 behind abandoned buildings in Calumet City was the impact of her own image on total strangers—like Faye Tippy.

"I saw her face and it touched me," said Tippy, who drove from Indiana to attend the service. "This stuff happens all the time and we don't know about it. We always think this would never happen to us, but it's happening across all [racial and economic] lines."

As Franklin's best friend, a co-worker and family members talked about the person they all saw as special, a large photo of her beamed from the altar and two large collages of photos depicted many facets of her life. Statements from U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush spoke to the immediate impact she had on many people when she was reported missing.

"She was a shining example of how God can use an individual to make this world a better place," Rush said in his statement.

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., senior pastor at Trinity, said there was a message from the Lord in this tragedy.

"Nailah living was not in vain. Look at the lives she touched. Look at the people she helped," Wright said.

Franklin's best friend, Dana McClellan, described how she took many of the photos on the fliers at a spur-of-the-moment photo shoot. "We got every part of who she was—laughs, serious, sexy," McClellan said. "It was one of the best times I ever had with her, but I don't know if I ever told her that." .....

article continued:
Family, friends, strangers mourn (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-franklin04_bothoct04,1,4143984.story?ctrack=1&cset=true)

[odette]

Nailah Franklin mourned

dailysouthtown.com - BY Norman Parish Special to the Daily Southtown - October 4, 2007

Maxine Jones is a longtime member of Trinity United Church of God on Chicago's South Side, but she didn't really know Nailah Franklin very well.

Still, she was moved to join more than 2,500 others in a funeral service Wednesday to remember the slain woman, who lived in Chicago's University Village neighborhood.

"I was just touched by her death," said Jones, 48, of Country Club Hills. "It was just so tragic." .....

continued:
Nailah Franklin mourned (http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/588063,100407franklin.article)

[odette]

'Murderer will be brought to justice'

NAILAH FRANKLIN | Mourners remember 'a star' at funeral for murdered woman

suntimes.com - BY NORMAN PARISH Staff Reporter - October 4, 2007

Family and friends described Nailah Franklin as an outgoing intelligent woman -- "a star."

She was a "girly girl" who enjoyed "fashion, shopping and everything Oprah."

"Nailah had style," Marina Franklin, of New York City's Harlem neighborhood, said Wednesday night at her sister's funeral at Trinity United Church of God on the South Side.

Franklin's body was found Sept. 27 in a wooded area in south suburban Calumet City in a case that has generated national headlines. The 28-year-old woman had been missing since Sept. 18.

Music for the service was not all sad. Much of it was uplifting and moving, such as the gospel classic "O Happy Day."

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity said Franklin's death was premature and made no sense.

"Violent crimes are not the will of God," Wright said. "Her murderer will be brought to justice." .....

'Murderer will be brought to justice' (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/587930,CST-NWS-missing04.article)

[odette]

Friends, Family Celebrate Nailah Franklin's Life

28-Year-Old Found In Calumet City Woods After Being Reported Missing

cbs2chicago.com - Oct 3, 2007 10:24 pm US/Central

(CBS) CHICAGO - The death of Nailah Franklin has touched the lives of many Chicagoans. Friends, Colleagues and even strangers gathered Wednesday for Franklin's funeral at Trinity United Church.

The service ended at about 8:30 p.m. So many people attended that they needed help controlling traffic. But the funeral was really a celebration of her life, cut short by a killer or killers who have yet to be caught. .....

article continued:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_276192323.html

[odette]

Ex-boyfriend arrested

ON PHONE WITH REPORTER | Man who once dated Franklin picked up on unrelated charges

BY MARY MITCHELL AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters/marym@suntimes.com - October 6, 2007

A former boyfriend of a pharmaceutical rep who disappeared and was found dead in south suburban Calumet City last week was arrested Friday on unrelated charges.

Reginald Potts, 30, was charged with misdemeanor battery after he allegedly threatened a gas station attendant in the South Loop, police said.

Potts, of the 1400 block of South Wabash, was arrested around 11 a.m. in the 800 block of South Wabash and was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, police said.

Potts was arrested during a phone conversation with a Chicago Sun-Times reporter, who could hear the conversation between him and the officers.

Officers first asked Potts for an ID, and he asked, "Why?"

They responded by telling him, "You look like someone.''

And he said, "Who is that? . . . I'm Reginald Potts." .....

continued
Ex-boyfriend arrested (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/590964,CST-NWS-missing06.article)

[odette]

Dead Woman's Ex Arrested on Misdemeanor

AP - 2 hours ago

CHICAGO (AP) — A former boyfriend of a Chicago woman found dead last week was arrested on a misdemeanor charge, authorities said.

Reginald Potts, 30, an ex-boyfriend of Nailah Franklin, was arrested Friday after he allegedly threatened a gas station attendant in downtown Chicago. Police stressed it was an unrelated charge. ..... cont.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hA_DEEClMpRwsFr29Un8v3z-yCtwD8S3PKI80

[odette]

THE NAILAH FRANKLIN CASE

In the grief of others, we see our own lives -- and worry

chicagotribune.com - By Heidi Stevens | an editor for the Tribune's Q section - October 7, 2007

Nailah Franklin couldn't possibly have been my daughter. For starters, she was only four years younger than I am.

But from the moment that I was handed a flier of Nailah's lovely face, the word MISSING parked desperately below, Nailah became my daughter.

It used to seem to me horribly voyeuristic to latch onto other people's tragedies. Too much as if their bad fortune were a sporting event, and we onlookers were rabid fans, painting our faces and shouting our support but eventually heading home to our other lives. Lives in which our houses are still standing and everyone we love is alive.

Then I became a mom. And a nervous, terrified, vulnerable wreck of a mom at that. Sure, I worry about cavities and chickenpox and finding the right preschool. But I reserve my hard-core fear for the big ones: Cancer. Drunken drivers. Kidnappers lurking in parking lots. .....

continued
THE NAILAH FRANKLIN CASE (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-nailah_thinkoct07,0,6166434.story)

[odette]

Don't add to war of words in Nailah case

Just delete e-mails allegedly written before woman died

suntimes.com - BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist - October 7, 2007

By now, we should know that nothing spreads venom faster than the Internet.

What's going on in the Nailah Franklin death investigation should be of concern to every young woman who regularly uses e-mails, text messages, and other forms of modern technology to connect with friends.

Unfortunately, I am one of the people who received copies of private e-mail exchanges -- allegedly between Franklin and Reginald Potts, the man who has identified himself in e-mails as having had a personal relationship with Franklin.

While the Internet harnessed the energy of hundreds of people to search for the 28-year-old black woman when she went missing on Sept. 19, it also is the vehicle that is now driving a nasty war of words about who is responsible for Franklin's death. .....

continued
Don't add to war of words in Nailah case (http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/591669,CST-NWS-mitch07.article)

[odette]

Potts: I did not murder Nailah

Ex-lover admits his life is a mess but swears he's no killer

suntimes.com - BY MARY MITCHELL - Sun-Times Columnist - October 28, 2007

Reginald Potts Jr., the 30-year-old Chicago man whose name has been linked to the Chicago Police Department's investigation into the death of Nailah Franklin, knows his life is messy.

His criminal past includes car theft and escaping from FBI custody. He's separated from his wife and two children, and has a 4-month-old daughter with another woman. Both women have been granted orders of protection for run-ins revolving around child visitation.

At the same time, he was living the single life.

Quite a mess. But that doesn't mean he should be suspected of murder, he says. — continued: »

http://i20.tinypic.com/250oyme.jpg
Nailah Franklin, who was last seen on Sept. 16 and was
found in a Calumet Park forest preserve on Sept. 27.
Reginald Potts (inset) says he saw Franklin off and on
for over a year.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/623656,CST-NWS-mitch28.article

[odette]

Isn't man innocent until proven guilty?

There's nothing wrong with talking to the news media

suntimes.com - MARY MITCHELL - October 30, 2007

Under America's criminal justice system, a person is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.

In fact, when you show up for jury duty, that's one of the first things you're told. The defendant doesn't have to prove his or her innocence. It is the prosecutor's job to prove the person did what has been alleged.

But "innocent until proven guilty" is an ideal -- not the reality. Once a person's name is linked to a heinous crime, that person will be judged in the public arena long before he or she gets to the courtroom.

Having never been charged with a crime, I can't tell you how that feels. But I imagine it is horrible to have your relatives, friends, associates and complete strangers judging your innocence or guilt absent any evidence that points to you.

Unfortunately, that's what is going on in the Nailah Franklin murder investigation.

On Sunday, Reginald Potts Jr., whose name has been linked with Franklin's, defended himself in the Sun-Times against speculation that he had anything to do with her death. Since he hasn't been named as a suspect, he shouldn't have had to say a word. But "innocent until proven guilty" isn't an ideal that applies to everyone. — continued: »

http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/626055,CST-NWS-mitch30.article

[odette]

Man linked to slain woman arrested in separate case

MAYWOOD | Accused of violating order of protection

suntimes.com - ERIC HERMAN AND ANNIE SWEENEY - October 31, 2007

Reginald Potts -- who dated slain pharmaceutical rep Nailah Franklin and whose name has been linked to the investigation of her murder -- was arrested Tuesday on unrelated charges.

Maywood police arrested Potts, 30, for violating an order of protection obtained by another woman. While being taken into custody at the Maywood courthouse, Potts resisted and struck a sheriff's deputy with his elbow, officials said. — continued

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/627830,CST-NWS-franklin31.article

[odette]

Ex-lover held in murder

NAILAH FRANKLIN CASE | Lilly drug rep's body found in Sept.

December 8, 2007

Reginald Potts Jr., the 30-year-old former lover of slain pharmaceutical rep Nailah Franklin, was charged late Friday night with first-degree murder in her death.

Potts, whose last known address is 1111 S. Wabash Ave., will appear on the charge at Branch 66 court Monday, prosecutors said.

“He's charged with first degree murder in the murder of Nailah Franklin," John Gorman, spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office, said late Friday.

“He's being held in Cook County Jail — no bail — in connection with an aggravated battery of a police officer in Maywood." ... continued

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/687600,120807nailah.article

[odette]

Suspect takes on his own case in murder trial

Judge tells man he is 'making a horrible, horrible mistake'

The judge could not have been clearer to Reginald Potts Jr.

"I think you are making a horrible, horrible mistake that could end up costing you your life," Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas Gainer Jr. said, his eyes locked on Potts. "Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I do," said Potts, who was seeking permission Friday to represent himself in his trial on charges he kidnapped and killed ex-girlfriend Nailah Franklin in September 2007.

Authorities say he stalked and threatened Franklin before he killed her and dumped her body in woods in Calumet City. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Potts, 31, told Gainer he can't afford a private attorney but does not want to be represented by assistant public defenders because he's been told that could delay a trial for years. He wants to go to trial in a month.

"I'm not guilty of this," he said. "I don't want to sit in jail for two more years."

A criminal prosecution is like a high-stakes chess game with intricately woven rules and laws that have myriad consequences. One poor play can spell disaster, especially in a capital murder case.

Potts has no legal experience but told the judge he has access to the Cook County Jail's law library one hour a week and has been studying up for his case. Gainer compared Potts' plan to defend himself to reading "Chess for Dummies" a couple of times before playing Garry Kasparov.

"Do you understand that I think you are going to be at a tremendous disadvantage when you pit your lack of experience against [prosecutors'] great experience?" Gainer asked.

Potts said he understood.

Gainer peppered him with questions. Did he understand rules of evidence and trial procedure and that the judge wouldn't be able to advise him during the trial? Did Potts know that once a trial begins, he cannot back out if he finds himself overwhelmed? Did he understand that in refusing the help of experienced trial lawyers, he would also lose their help finding—and paying for—expert witnesses to counter the state's case?

Potts said he believed the truth would win out.

Finally, Gainer acceded but left Potts room to change his mind.

"I can easily be talked out of my decision to let you represent yourself," Gainer said as the hearing drew to a close. "All you have to do is ask."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-crime-potts-columnoct25,0,2540188.story

[odette]

Murder suspect will defend himself at death penalty trial

FRANKLIN CASE | Judge: 'You're making horrible, horrible mistake'

The man accused of killing pharmaceutical rep Nailah Franklin last year will be allowed to represent himself at trial in a case in which prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

Cook County Judge Thomas V. Gainer Jr. granted Reginald Potts' request Friday, but only after repeatedly warning Potts he was making a big mistake.

"Mr. Potts, don't look at me as the enemy," Gainer said. "You understand I think you're making a horrible, horrible mistake that could end up costing you your life?"

"Yes, I do," he replied.

Gainer granted Potts' request to dismiss his private attorney, Robert Johnson, after Potts said he couldn't afford his services. Potts also repeatedly told Gainer that he didn't want a public defender to represent him.

In January, Potts had said he would consider acting as his own attorney if he couldn't find a suitable private lawyer.

Franklin, 28, who lived in University Village, disappeared in September 2007. Her partly decomposed body was found 10 days later in a wooded area of Calumet City. Potts, who had dated Franklin, says he had nothing to do with her death.

Assistant state's attorney Maria McCarthy told Gainer in March that the state was seeking the death penalty it because the murder was "cold and calculated" and occurred while Potts was committing other felonies against Franklin. A trial date has not been set.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1241687,CST-NWS-self25.article

[odette]

Potts now undecided about self-representation

http://www.chicagodefender.com/article-2414-potts-now-undecided-.html

[odette]

Defense attorney appointed in Potts murder case

Just weeks after he insisted he could represent himself against murder charges, Reginald Potts today accepted the assistance of the Cook County public defender’s office.

Potts, who is accused of killing pharmaceutical rep Nailah Franklin, told Judge Thomas V. Gainer Jr. last month he couldn’t afford a private attorney and said he wanted to represent himself. He repeatedly said he didn’t want a public defender.

But at a hearing this morning, he changed his mind and accepted the appointment of a public defender on his behalf, according to assistant state’s attorney Mark Shlifka.

Gainer granted Potts’ request to be his own attorney at hearing on Oct. 24 but warned Potts he was making a huge mistake in a case in which prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

“Mr. Potts, don't look at me as the enemy,” Gainer said at the time. “You understand I think you're making a horrible, horrible mistake that could end up costing you your life?”

“Yes, I do,” Potts replied.

Franklin, 28, who lived in University Village, disappeared in September 2007. Her partly decomposed body was found 10 days later in a wooded area of Calumet City. Potts, who had dated Franklin, insists he had nothing to do with her death.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1275128,potts-defense-murder-111208.article

[odette]

Public defender for Nailah Franklin murder suspect

Just weeks after he insisted he could represent himself against murder charges, Reginald Potts on Wednesday accepted the assistance of the Cook County public defender's office.

Potts, accused of killing pharmaceutical rep Nailah Franklin, told Judge Thomas V. Gainer Jr. last month he couldn't afford a private attorney and said he wanted to represent himself. He repeatedly said he didn't want a public defender.

But at a hearing Wednesday morning, he changed his mind and accepted the appointment of a public defender on his behalf, according to Assistant State's Attorney Mark Shlifka.

Gainer granted Potts' request to be his own attorney at a hearing on Oct. 24 but warned Potts he was making a huge mistake in a case in which prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

"Mr. Potts, don't look at me as the enemy," Gainer said at the time. "You understand I think you're making a horrible, horrible mistake that could end up costing you your life?"

"Yes, I do," Potts replied.

Franklin, 28, who lived in University Village, disappeared in September 2007. Her partly decomposed body was found 10 days later in a wooded area of Calumet City. Potts, who had dated Franklin, insists he had nothing to do with her death.

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1275790,nailah-franklin1112.article