The man charged in a Park Forest double homicide lived with the two victims and was in a dating relationship with the older woman, court records show.
Coleman Franklin, 50, was arrested Tuesday and ordered held Thursday by Cook County Judge Luciano Panici, who found Franklin poses a clear and present danger to the community. He is due back in court on January 24.
Park Forest police responded around 6 p.m. On Dec. 26, police found Lillian Brown, 51, and Sabrina McCain, 30, with gunshot wounds in their home on the 300 block of Miami Street. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene and McCain was pronounced dead at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields.
At the home, police also found McCain’s 2-year-old and 9-year-old children, who were unharmed, according to court records.
The day before, Franklin complained to his aunt about his living situation and relationship with the two women, prosecutors said. He reported that McCain wanted him to start paying rent, which he said was unfair, and had previously said he believed McCain was trying to break off his relationship with Brown, according to prosecutors.
Franklin called his aunt, who is not named in court records, from the Harvey Metra station on Tuesday and denied killing the women. He claimed that McCain’s 9-year-old son was going to lie to police and that he had done so, according to prosecutors. They said Franklin’s aunt drove to the train station while he was on the phone with Franklin and called the police. Franklin was arrested by Harvey police and taken to Park Forest police.
An unnamed friend of the victims told police that McCain told her on Dec. 16 that Franklin had pulled a gun on Brown and that she should come between the two, prosecutors said. McCain also said that she, Brown and the children were not safe in the house with Frankin, and if he did something like that again, she would call the police, they said.
Prosecutors identify McCain’s 9-year-old son as a witness to the double murder and say he was playing video games in his room when he heard gunshots. When he came out of his room, he reportedly saw Franklin standing over McCain, who was lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to her head, they said.
The boy then called 911 and told operators that “the only one I saw with a gun was Cole; I didn’t see anyone else,” prosecutors said. The child also called out to Franklin for reloading his gun, as captured during the 911 call, and told officers that Franklin ran out the back door of the home before officers arrived, prosecutors said.
McCain’s body was found in the living room and Brown’s body in the bedroom, shot at close range in the face and neck, prosecutors said.
At the Harvey train station, Franklin told his aunt that Brown was still married and said her husband had shot the two women, prosecutors said. Prosecutors say the man denied in a police interview that he had had contact with Brown or gone to the Park Forest home for more than six months, and that he was home all day with another person, who was also interviewed.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
