In the late summer of 2005, the life of Sean Franklin, a 37-year-old man from Chester, Pennsylvania, was tragically cut short. On the evening of August 31, 2005, Franklin was discovered in his silver Pontiac Grand Prix in the Highland Gardens neighborhood of the city. He had sustained a single gunshot wound to his back. The Delaware County Medical Examiner's office later ruled his death a homicide.
At the time of his death, Franklin was the proprietor of a commercial cleaning company and an alumnus of Temple University.
For years, the case of Sean Franklin's murder remained without a resolution, a painful open wound for his family and the community. The investigation continued, with law enforcement officials piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting. The narrative that emerged suggested that an argument had taken place shortly before Franklin was killed. As he attempted to drive away from the confrontation, he was shot.
A significant breakthrough in the investigation came in February 2012, when authorities arrested Ronier Kennedy, a then 26-year-old man from Chester. Kennedy was charged not only with the murder of Sean Franklin but also with a separate attempted murder that occurred in 2007. The charges brought against Kennedy in connection with Franklin's death included murder, aggravated assault, and simple assault.
