GUILFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say the upstate New York boy allegedly killed by his parents was mentally and physically disabled and was adopted by the couple several years ago. Chenango County Sheriff Ernest Cutting Jr. says 16-year-old Jeffrey Franklin had developmental disabilities and had to use a wheelchair. He says the teen was adopted by Ernest and Heather Franklin around 2010.
Fire crews found the teen's body inside the couple's burning home in rural Guildford on March 1. Police this week charged the couple with second-degree murder.The charges were filed after an autopsy revealed the teen was dead before the fire started. The cause of death hasn't been released.
The sheriff says the Franklins set the fire to cover up the slaying.The Franklins have pleaded not guilty and are being held in the county jail without bail.