In the early hours of a Sunday morning in Terre Haute, Indiana, the life of 36-year-old Cheryl Waggoner Reynolds, a dedicated EMT and mother of four, was tragically cut short. On September 28, 2014, she was fatally shot, a single gunshot wound to her chest proving fatal. Her death was the result of a domestic dispute that escalated to violence inside a residence on North 13th and ½ Street.
The initial call to police was misleading, with the male caller reporting a possible suicide.
However, upon arrival, the evidence at the scene did not align with a self-inflicted wound, prompting a deeper investigation by the Terre Haute Police Department. The focus of the investigation quickly turned to her live-in boyfriend, Franklin D. 'Fred' Roach Jr. After several hours of questioning, Roach was arrested in connection with Cheryl's death.
The investigation revealed a history of domestic turmoil between the couple, with a previous incident in July of that year where police had been called to their residence, and Cheryl had reported being battered by Roach. He was arrested at that time for domestic battery, intimidation, and resisting law enforcement. In the September incident that led to her death, an autopsy confirmed that Cheryl had died from a gunshot wound to the heart and a lung.
Franklin D. Roach Jr., who was 40 years old at the time of his arrest, was initially charged with murder and reckless homicide. During his trial in Vigo Superior Court 3, the jury was presented with the evidence gathered by investigators. After a three-day trial, the jury deliberated for about an hour and a half before finding him guilty of reckless homicide. The murder charge was dismissed as part of the legal proceedings. For his role in the death of Cheryl Waggoner Reynolds, Franklin D. Roach Jr. was sentenced to serve six years in prison.
