Background: The 2400 block of Pennsylvania Street in Gary, Indiana (Google Maps). Inset: Charles Franklin (Gary Police Department).
An Indiana man is accused of shooting his girlfriend and the mother of his child to death with a sawed-off shotgun after an argument at their home.
Charles Franklin, 26, faces several charges, including murder, domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years old, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, court records show. He is being held in the Lake County Jail.
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On Monday, at a home on the 2400 block of Pennsylvania Street, Franklin was home with his girlfriend, 26-year-old Arrianna Miles. Their 11-month-old son was also there, per a probable cause affidavit reviewed by the Post-Tribune.
The couple was arguing, and Miles was allegedly discussing kicking him out of the home, bringing up disputes from the past, such as that he cheated on her. According to Franklin, Miles grabbed a sawed-off shotgun from a closet, and the two began physically fighting. Then the gun fired.
Franklin called 911, saying Miles had been shot. When the dispatcher asked him if the shooting was intentional, he allegedly hesitated before saying “no,” and Miles could be heard saying, “Why would you do that?”
“I”m dying,” the shooting victim added, along with “take me outside” before she went silent, the affidavit states.
Gary police officers arrived at the home to find Miles on a sofa suffering from a gunshot wound, with a red stain in her abdomen area. “Please get him away from me,” she begged the officers, the Post-Tribune reported.
She was brought to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her autopsy revealed that she died from a close-range gunshot wound, and investigators were skeptical of Franklin’s story that she had been holding the gun when it went off.
For one, the gun was allegedly shot from a downward trajectory. Officers were also curious as to why five 12-gauge shotgun shells matching the one fired were found lying around the home.
Court records show Franklin also faces a domestic battery charge from April and an intimidation charge from May. He was scheduled to have an initial hearing in court on Thursday.
