GORDON A. FRANKLIN | Killed 13yo Daughter Danielle With A Golf Putter For Buying Candy, Then Went Calmly About His Business | Sentenced only 15 yrs – jury felt sorry for him that his daughter was dead! | UNOPENED letter from prison

Gordon A. Franklin. ALS. #10 (4.125 x 9.5). SEALED. Content unknown. Pristine.

Gordon Franklin (hereinafter referred to as “Gordo”) was held at the Hamilton County Justice Center, due to face a judge the next day.

Gordo confessed to killing his daughter with a golf putter. No motive has been given.

When 13-year-old Danielle Marie Franklin (b. 1992 – d. 2005) failed to show up for class Thursday morning, the school notified her mother.

Upon returning to their Norwood home on Maple Avenue, Danielle’s mom, Kathy, found her body and called 911.

"Oh my God! My daughter! You have to get here right away she's bleeding! She's like dead! Oh my God!" Kathy screamed at the dispatcher in a 911 tape obtained by 9News.

The coroner says Danielle's father, Gordo, confessed to killing her with a golf putter while she lay sleeping on the third floor bedroom around 7:30 am.

"A golf putter was used to her skull multiple times, my estimation and that of my investigator Ed Deters was that she was asleep … she was asleep. Its hard to understand", said Hamilton County Coroner Dr. O’Dell Owens. (Gordo had been diagnosed many years ago with Dual Diagnosis: Bipolar Disorder and Alcoholism.)

Police say Danielle's mom was on the second floor during the time of the killing but didn't hear anything.

At Norwood Middle School, a banner reads “We will never forget”.

Flowers and gifts were brought in memory of the former cheerleader. Counselors were on hand to help students with their grief. “It's tough for them to deal with it. They don't quite understand it and it’s new to them in most cases. So I think its a difficult thing for them to go through and at that age they don't know how to react. They're struggling with their emotions and how they deal with it”, said superintendent Steve Collier.

A moment of silence was expected to be held at the Norwood football game Friday. A memorial service is still in the planning stages.

As for Gordo, he was scheduled to appear before a judge and remained in custody while donning a suicide watch smock.

A security guard assisted in capturing Gordo. Gordo, now a murder suspect, was arrested on Thursday night thanks to a quick-thinking security guard at Eastgate Mall. According to Sergeant TJ Drees, he was simply going about his duties. But security received a tip from Norwood police, who informed him that the suspect might be in that area. He caught a glimpse of something strange shortly after 11:00 pm in the corner of his eye. Additionally, the guard claims Gordo didn't exhibit any signs of sloppiness or confusion. He kept his composure until the police arrived and only briefly spoke to them about his daughter.

No clear motive when asked why Gordo would murder his daughter, police remained tight-lipped. "We're not going to get into why right now because this investigation is still pending and we have more questions and we'd like to get answers," said Hutson. Reporters continued to probe, but police would not release any details. 'We'd like to know that too. How can you hurt someone you supposedly love?" Hutson added.

Although Danielle's brother was at school at the time of the murder, police said her mother, Katherine, was downstairs on the second floor. Danielle's bedroom was on the third floor.

"From our investigation, the mother was downstairs in her room," said Hutson, adding that the mother did not hear the crime taking place. She continued to work where she remained until hearing from her daughter's school.

Danielle's body was found by her mother around 1:05 pm after receiving a call from the school that Danielle was not there.

UPDATE: Gordo was denied parole in 2021; Next Parole Board Hearing set for December 2030

VIDEO: R.I.P. Danielle Marie Franklin | https://youtu.be/7OR1CCdByxY

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