On July 4, 2023, Joan Frank, 62, was found deceased in her Wichita Falls, Texas, residence. Police responded to a welfare check at the home on Craigmont Drive around 11:30 p.m. Upon arrival, officers discovered Frank in an upstairs bedroom with fatal gunshot wounds. Her husband, identified as 65-year-old Cedric Sartin, was found in an adjacent bedroom suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth with serious injuries.
According to the arrest affidavit, Frank's daughter, who owned the residence, told police that her mother had called her, asking to call the police because Sartin had a gun. The daughter reported seeing Sartin standing over Frank in the bathtub before he shot her. After the shooting, Sartin reportedly stared at the daughter for a few seconds before walking to his bedroom and shooting himself. The daughter, a local physician, performed CPR on her mother until first responders arrived.
Following his recovery, Sartin was arrested and charged with murder. He was booked into the Wichita County Jail on August 16, 2023, with a bond set at $750,000. A Wichita County grand jury indicted Sartin for the murder of his wife on September 6, 2023. A trial date was set for October 7, 2024.
Tragically, Sartin passed away from natural causes while in custody on March 25, 2024, before the trial could proceed. This case marked the fourth murder in Wichita Falls in 2023.
