Reggie Franklin Jr. is a former childhood friend of Athena who killed Tanya Kingston.
History[]
Early Life[]
He was named after his father and hailed from Florida. During his childhood, Junior Franklin was childhood friends with Athena Carter who was a few years younger than him and he would often chase her through the orange groves as a game.
In 1977, he was at the bonfire party that night that Joanne Kingston and a few other teens attended. He watched as Joanne's sister Tanya arrived and laughed at the argument between them about Tanya staying. Much later, he noticed Tanya leaving (as per her agreement) and offered her a ride home because it was late at night. He stopped at the groves, where he and Tanya talked about her sister. However, Junior made sexual advances at Tanya who was uncomfortable until he got a little forceful, causing Tanya to run away into the orange grove, screaming for her sister. Afraid of being exposed as a predator, Junior chased after her and once he caught up to her, he killed her. He called his father for help and told him it was an accident, with the latter's truck scaring off Joanne and the remaining teens. Junior put Tanya's body in a tarp and loaded her in the back. When his father expressed reluctance, Junior angrily accused him of caring about her more than his own son and Senior told him that'd he would take care of it. As this was happening, Samuel Carter led a search for a missing Tanya occurred that night but no sign of her was located only her hair barrette.
The next day, Junior visited Joanne and gave her reassurance. In reality, he was trying to flush out what she knew of Tanya's whereabouts but got no hints. That same day, his father was hired to place cement down for renovations and the older Franklin placed Tanya's body there and she remained buried for over four decades.
Junior later became a contractor like his father and avoided detection from the public, which caused turmoil on the Kingston family in the years to follow. Unknown to everyone and his father, Junior's crime later caused him to become a serial killer of young girls, with at least six of them being victims. He would keep a collection of their shoes in his workshop to recall the murder.
The Investigation Reopened[]
When Athena and her husband Bobby came to visit her ailing father and check out the damages to their house, Junior was hired as the contractor. He explained his father was semi-retired, before catching up with Athena. He examined the damages to the house and noted on what work needed to be done until watching them argue with Beatrice Carter and he told Athena that this was no different from his arguments with his father. When Athena went to the hospital to visit Samuel, Junior and Bobby worked on the house until they found a body was found underneath the house. The police were called, just as Athena arrived and was told of the situation. She quickly realized it was Tanya Kingston's body after she saw a cop carry an evidence bag past her with a barrette in it.[1]
As the body was located under the Carter House, suspicion fell on Samuel and Reggie Sr., with their DNA samples being taken. Athena and Bobby later found the Franklins outside the house and they made small talk about the investigation and the renovations before Junior ushered his father away and the two left the scene.[2]
Arrest[]
Soon the investigation was directed towards the Franklins after it was noted on Reggie Sr.'s words on the cement being put on the body, the sound of his truck, and how Junior was at the party that the Kingston sisters snuck out to. That night, Junior broke into the Kingston house and stole Joanne's gun. After she finds him, he held her at gunpoint and tells the shocked Joanne that he came to tie up loose ends and proceeds to abduct her. Junior takes the bound Joanne to the orange grove, where he goes over the night Tanya disappeared. He voices his intentions to frame Joanne and make it seem she committed suicide out of guilt while coldly ignoring her pleas of their past friendship. Before he could shoot, Bobby (who spotted the Franklin's truck) appears and tackled him, causing a struggle and he drops the gun. Joanne then grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger but misses and Junior breaks free to try and get away as Athena and Det. Dixon arrive. Athena is ushered into going after the fleeing Junior. In an opposite reflection of their youth, Athena chases him through the orange grove. She eventually caught up to him and clocked him in the head with a shovel, while firmly stating he was hiding in plain sight but declared she finally got him after 45 years for Tanya's death. Junior said nothing in response before Athena handed him over to the detective, while telling Bobby that she's okay now.
At the precinct, Junior's father, Reggie Sr., was brought in for his involvement. He tried to justify defending his son until Athena and Dixon showed him Junior's collection of other victims and state that he didn't stop with Tanya. Reggie Sr. was wracked with guilt at not knowing that Junior was a predator, and he is coldly told his choice led to their fates. Later, Athena notified Joanne on the case and revealed the cops were looking for more victims. Joanne was speechless at Junior and thanked Athena for getting her family justice.[2]
Appearances[]
| Season Six | |||||
| "Let the Games Begin" | "Crash & Learn" | "The Devil You Know" | "Animal Instincts" | "Home Invasion" | "Tomorrow" |
| "Cursed" | "What's Your Fantasy?" | "Red Flag" | "In a Flash" | "In Another Life" | "Recovery" |
| "Mixed Feelings" | "Performance Anxiety" | "Death and Taxes" | "Lost & Found" | "Love Is in the Air" | "Pay It Forward" |
References[]
- ↑ "Crash & Learn"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Devil You Know"