Dad used phone sex line, smoked pot as 4-month-old son dies of asphyxiation (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota)

Sometimes the headlines just encapsulate the whole story. All I can say is that dad WILLIE ERVIN FRANKLIN is not my nominee for Father of the Year. And I hope he rots in jail for a long time.

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1116469.shtml?cat=206

Updated: 09/01/2009 10:11 PM KSTP.com Print Email
By: Nicole Muehlhausen, Web Producer

Charges: Father Used Phone Sex Line as Son Died

Police Investigating Child's Death in Golden Valley


The Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged a 23-year-old father for the death of his son in Golden Valley on Aug. 28.

Officials say Willie Ervin Franklin III, of Brooklyn Center, faces second-degree manslaughter in the death of his four-moth-old son Willie Ervin Franklin IV.

The child was found the child in an apartment in the 1400 block of Douglas Drive and transported him to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale where he died a short time later.

Franklin told police he had been home alone with the infant after the child's mother left the apartment around 7:30 a.m. Police say Franklin fabricated a story--saying he was feeding the baby when it fell unconscious.

After questioning, Franklin changed his story and said he had been walking with his son when he tripped, causing the baby to fall and strike his head.

According to the criminal complaint, Franklin once again changed his story, saying his son was crying and he threw a baby bottle at his son and hit him in the head. He then put the child face down on a pillow on the couch and covered him tightly in a blanket. Franklin says he then smoked marijuana and made calls to a sex-related chat line.

After 30 minutes, Franklin says his son was unresponsive and he couldn't revive him. He then called 911.

Initial autopsy findings ruled the child died from being asphyxiated.

Franklin is current in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine, or both.