On January 24th, 2002 someone walked into the back door of Carlos O’Kelly’s in Topeka, Kansas and shot the manager Bob Frazier in the chest leaving him paralyzed for the rest of his life. The police called it a botched robbery and considering the fact that three robberies had happened at this location previously, that wasn’t a far fetched conclusion.
Witnesses gave a description of the man they saw running away from the scene. They say that he was a black man running away from the scene
Witnesses say they saw a black man running away from the scene. They also described a getaway car. Most of their statements conflicted with one another but these two points remained the same. Everyone thought it was a black male that shot Frazier. Everyone saw a dark-colored Honda Accord pull away from the sea. Several people also noted that the tint on the Windows was peeling off.
Unfortunately, two black men would be accused of this crime. One brother was named James Griffin and he drove a car similar to the getaway car. However, whose car was well kept, had expensive window tinting and had expensive rims that were very noticeable. Not to mention the fact that Griffin was in a town 2 and 1/2 hours away. And he has phone records to prove it.
The other black man was Maurice Franklin who happened to be Griffin’s brother. They accused him of being the gunman and convicted him of attempted murder. No one took into account the fact that Franklin had a surgical steel rod in his leg and could not run without an obvious limp. No witnesses noticed the man limping away from the crime scene.
In fact, no one’s for sure that a black man was involved in this. Frasier said the person who came in the door said give me all of your money. He said to the cops that he thought the voice sounded like a black man. And no one saw who the getaway driver was. One person thought it may have even been a woman. So how has this man spent 20 years in prison when he has proof that he was in another town 3 hours away? Why can’t he get anyone to listen to him? Why didn’t he have any black jurors on his jury trial?
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Madhouse Madison County
Chaos rules in a small Southeastern Missouri County. Madison County spans 500 square miles and has a population of approximately 13,000 people. The county seat is Fredericktown with a population of approximately 4,000 people. This rural county should be a safe place in beautiful Americana, but it hides a dark secret. Fredericktown is one of the most dangerous places to live in America. Check out this quote from neighborhoodscout.com.
“With a crime rate of 31 per one thousand residents, Fredericktown has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes – from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 32.”
I started researching one case sent to me by a desperate grandmother. That case led me to fifteen more. Then I realized this county has had murder, corruption, and chaos since before the Wild West days. This book will start with a lynching by a Fredericktown mob in 1844. Hold onto your seats when you read this one. You’re in for a wild, chaotic ride through rural Missouri.
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