On the final night of 2016, a promising young life was tragically cut short in Ruston, Louisiana. Nicholas Green, a 22-year-old male student at Louisiana Tech University, was fatally shot inside his East Texas Avenue apartment. Known to his friends and family as 'Nikko,' Green was poised to graduate in 2017 and had a future full of potential. The evening was meant for celebration, but instead, it became a scene of violence that would leave a community in mourning and a family searching for
answers for nearly a decade.
The initial investigation into Green's death proved to be a long and arduous journey for law enforcement. For years, the case remained cold, with no suspects publicly identified and no arrests made, deepening the anguish for his loved ones. Neighbors at the time recalled hearing what they thought were fireworks, a common sound on New Year's Eve, only to discover the grim reality of police cars and ambulances descending on the normally quiet neighborhood. Inside the apartment, officers found Green with a fatal gunshot wound; three other individuals were present at the time of the shooting.
A significant breakthrough in the case finally came in January 2026, nearly a decade after the fatal shooting. Ruston police arrested Brandi Raney Franklin, a 29-year-old woman from Opelousas, in connection with Green's death. It was revealed that Franklin was one of the three other people present in the apartment on the night of the incident. She was taken into custody and charged with negligent homicide and obstruction of justice. Franklin was also initially arrested on outstanding warrants for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia before being transported to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center to face the more serious charges related to Green's death. She is being held on a substantial bond as the legal proceedings in this long-unsolved case begin to unfold.
