In the early evening of September 17, 2020, emergency services responded to a call near a liquor store in Syracuse, New York, where they found a person lying in the road. The victim, 29-year-old Shadetta L. Franklin, had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. She was transported to a local hospital for medical attention but succumbed to her injuries two days later on September 19, 2020.
Known affectionately as 'Detta' to her friends and family, she was a mother to a son and a daughter.
The investigation into her death quickly moved forward, and on September 29, 2020, authorities made an arrest in connection with the shooting. Anthony Sutton Jr., who was 22 years old at the time, was taken into custody and subsequently charged with the murder of Franklin. The circumstances and motive behind the fatal shooting were not immediately made public by law enforcement officials as they continued to piece together the events of that tragic evening.
The violence, however, did not end with Franklin's death. In the days that followed, the community was rocked by another killing that authorities would come to believe was a direct act of retaliation. On September 20, the day after Franklin passed away, 30-year-old Tyree Lawson was shot and killed on the porch of a residence just two blocks from where Franklin had been found. Family members of Lawson stated at the time that they believed he was the victim of mistaken identity.
Further investigation into this second homicide led to the arrest of 21-year-old Mysean Griswold. During a court hearing in January 2022, prosecutors alleged that Griswold had carried out a planned execution of Lawson, who he mistakenly believed was responsible for Shadetta Franklin's death. It was also revealed that on the same day Franklin was shot, Griswold had allegedly shot and wounded another man who survived. Griswold faced charges for the murder of Lawson, with prosecutors asserting it was a retaliatory act. Two other individuals were also accused of having lesser roles in the alleged retaliation plot.
