On the night before his wedding, thirty-six-year-old Billy Brewster decided to impulsively have a few drinks and hit up a strip club with a few of his friends. When he returned home at around 2 AM, he found himself in a heated confrontation with his wife. Two 911 calls later, he was dead, and now, his one-time fiancée, Na Cola Darcel Franklin, is headed to jail for his murder.
The case of the so-called Killer Bride has attracted a ton of attention in Pennsylvania and even generated more than its share of national headlines, thanks in part to how fiercely divided people are over who was actually at fault for what happened. According to The Morning Call, if Franklin is to be believed, she did what she had to do for her baby. Brewster was drunk when he got home (.13 blood alcohol level), and he allegedly decided to grab his child and drive to a restaurant to pick up some food. That dangerous decision didn’t sit too well with Franklin who picked up a knife and called 911. On the recording played for the jury, Franklin is heard several times telling Brewster to give her back the baby. At one point, she even asks him if he’s interested in “fucking dying tonight”. Three minutes later, Franklin phoned 911 again, this time to ask for paramedics because she cut her “husband”.”
Alas, the husband part of that equation never happened because he died in the hospital later that evening. Instead, the wedding gave way to a trial that could have ended before it started with a plea agreement of 13 years in prison. Franklin wanted no part of it because she doesn’t think she did anything wrong. Now, she’ll likely spend the rest of her life regretting that decision because the jury hit her with life in prison without the possibility of parole.
We all react to extremely stressful situations in different ways. Clearly, Franklin should have handled the situation differently, but as for receiving life in prison without parole, that seems extremely harsh. Her lawyer has already announced he will appeal. If the conviction gets overturned, we will let you know.
