In the early morning hours of Thursday, October 29, 2020, the quiet community of Franklin, Massachusetts, was disturbed by its first homicide in over two decades. Deandre Akeem Scott, a 26-year-old Black / African American male, was fatally shot inside a residence on Elwood Road. Responding to a 911 call placed around 12:45 a.m., police discovered Scott with a gunshot wound to his chest.
He was rushed to Milford Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:50 a.m.
Deandre, known as "Dre" to his loved ones, was a 2012 graduate of Franklin High School and had also attended Dean College. He worked as a union carpenter and was a father to a daughter, with another child on the way. Those who knew him remembered his ability to connect with people and his love for expressing himself through music and humor. He had previously lived in Franklin, though at the time of his death, his residence was listed as Attleboro.
The investigation into the shooting quickly focused on an encounter between Scott and another individual, Marcus Thibodeau, who was living at the Wachusett Street area address where the incident occurred, a place Scott had previously resided. Authorities stated that the shooting was not a random act and that the parties involved knew each other. In December 2020, Thibodeau was indicted on charges related to the incident, but not for murder. The charges included carrying a gun, possession of ammunition, and two counts of misleading police.
As the legal process continued, the Norfolk District Attorney's office noted that there were ambiguities surrounding the events of that night. Investigators eventually concluded that the shooting was likely an act of self-defense, a determination that shifted the official classification of Scott's death away from murder. This left many questions about the final moments of Deandre Scott's life unanswered, as the full details of the encounter would not be brought to light in a murder trial.
In a tragic and unforeseen turn of events, Marcus Thibodeau himself was killed in a shooting in Worcester in December 2021, along with his brother, James Johnson. An arrest was made in their deaths in April 2022, with Christopher Burns being charged with two counts of murder. While this brought a measure of progress in the case of Thibodeau's death, the full story of what transpired on the night Deandre Akeem Scott lost his life remains a painful and unresolved memory for his family and friends.
