Haysville dad enters no-contest plea to murder in 4-month-old baby’s 2018 abuse death
A Haysville father charged with killing his 4-month-old daughter in 2018 has pleaded no contest to an amended count of second-degree reckless murder and one count of child abuse, according to Sedgwick County District Court records.
Andrew Wayne Franklin, 36, will be sentenced June 6 by Judge Eric Williams. Franklin is expected to receive a prison sentence for his crimes, but the exact amount of time will depend largely on his prior criminal history.
His presumptive sentences will fall somewhere between around nine to more than 41 years for murder and 31 months to more than 11 years for child abuse, his plea agreement says.
Franklin was originally charged with first-degree felony murder and alternative counts of child abuse, alleging he either shook or “cruelly beat” Brexley Grace Franklin on Sept. 8, 2018, causing internal injuries that led to her death in the hospital less than a week later.
A medical examiner determined the baby died from blunt force injuries to her head. The abuse left her with a fractured skull, bruising on her face and leg, brain swelling and bleeding around her brain, spinal cord and eyes, her autopsy report says.
The day Brexley was hurt, Franklin was alone with her and another child at their home in the 400 block of Sarah Lane. Her mother was at work.
Franklin told Haysville police that Brexley became unresponsive after having a seizure on Sept. 8, 2018, and was bruised by a car seat.
But medical staff said the infant’s condition was consistent with “a shaken baby” or other intentionally inflicted trauma that wasn’t survivable, his arrest affidavit says.
Court records aren’t clear about what exactly motivated the fatal abuse. But the arrest affidavit says Franklin fought recently with Brexley’s mother about her care and drank “a couple of beers” before noon the day the baby was harmed.
It also suggests Franklin got upset because Brexley defecated on his hand when he opened her diaper to check it after she started crying while he was watching ESPN.
Franklin entered the no-contest plea on April 29 instead of going forward with a jury trial on May 9, court records show. He remains in the Sedgwick County Jail while awaiting sentencing.
