A married couple in Washington state will spend several decades behind bars for killing their autistic 15-year-old adoptive son, starving the child to death three years ago while also abusing his siblings.
Clark County Superior Court Judge Suzan L. Clark last week ordered Felicia L. Adams and Jesse C. Franks to serve sentences of 35 and 30 years, respectively, in a state correctional facility for the 2020 slaying of young Karreon Franks, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
A jury in October found the couple guilty on one count each of homicide by domestic abuse in the victim’s death as well as two counts each of second-degree criminal mistreatment for abusing Karreon’s younger brothers, ages 13 and 14. Adams, the boys’ maternal aunt, and Franks were also convicted on one count of second-degree murder which the court vacated because it involved the same underlying conduct as the domestic abuse homicide conviction.
Felicia L. Adams and Jesse C. Franks (Stockton County Sheriff’s Office)
During the sentencing hearing, Clark said that it was one of the most difficult cases she has had to deal with in nearly 40 years on the bench, according to a report from The Columbian.
“What happened to Karreon is one of the saddest things I have seen in 37 years — a child with special needs in the condition he was in when he died,” Clark reportedly told the court. “And the hardest part of this was I kept waiting in trial for a good reason for this.”
Further evincing the emotional toll the case had on those involved, Clark reportedly said that when she went back to her chambers after the trial, she said she found “all of the jurors in tears because of what they had been through.” She also noted that an alternate juror on the case said they had been having trouble sleeping because of what they had seen during the trial.
Adams also addressed the court, appearing defiant and remorseless as she bemoaned the depiction of her parenting during the trial and claimed she didn’t deserve the sentence sought by prosecutors, The Columbian reported.
“It’s difficult to sit here and having heard the things I’ve heard and the depiction of us as parents,” Adams reportedly said. “I just feel like I wasn’t portrayed in the best light and that’s too bad. Now, I have to be OK with whatever happens.
Karreon died in a hospital in Vancouver, Washington, on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, one day after Thanksgiving. Hospital records shown to jurors at trial said the 5-foot 3-inch child weighed only 61 pounds at the time of his death. Prosecutors said that meant Karreon lost about 47% of his body weight from July 2019.
Attorneys for Adams and Franks reportedly told reporters that they planned to appeal the convictions and sentences for the couple.
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