John Jefferson
Left inset: Heather Thompson (WLWT/YouTube). Right inset: Franklin Thompson (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Police outside the home of Franklin Thompson where he shot and killed his daughter Heather Thompson (WLWT/YouTube).
A father in Ohio gunned down his 24-year-old daughter with a pistol during an argument that “revolved around smoking in the house” and then “expressed zero remorse” about it when being interviewed by police, according to prosecutors.
Franklin Thompson, 64, of Sycamore Township, was found wandering a block away from his home with the murder weapon in his pocket after the early Monday morning shooting, which landed him in jail on a charge of first-degree murder, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. His daughter, Rebecca Thompson, was found by her 18-year-old sister with a fatal gunshot wound after Thompson allegedly fired multiple rounds at her.
“If he’s willing to do this to his own daughter, we’re very concerned about what he’d be willing to do to a stranger if he were to be released,” prosecutors said Tuesday during Thompson’s first court appearance, according to local NBC affiliate WLWT.
Neighbors told the CBS and CW affiliate WKRC that Thompson is a “nice guy” with no known history of violence. Authorities say he had a “recent brain operation” that has caused “lasting issues,” according to the police report, but it’s unclear what those issues are exactly. Prosecutors allege that Thompson and his daughter were allegedly having an argument that “apparently revolved around smoking in the house” when he opened fire on her at around 1 a.m. Monday. It’s unclear who was smoking.
“Thomson was subsequently interviewed by sheriff’s detectives and admitted to shooting his daughter several times during a verbal interaction,” his arrest affidavit says, according to local Fox affiliate WXIX.
Thompson reportedly lived with the victim and her sister at a home in the 12000 block of 6th Street in Sycamore Township, which is a suburb of Cincinnati.
“Just a normal family,” neighbor Edgar Martinez told WKRC. “This is sad.”
Vidalinda Roblero, another neighbor, said, “He was very good … When we came to live here, he welcomed the family.”
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Online court records show that Thompson has minor traffic infractions, a 2023 arrest for trespassing at a Kroger grocery store and a 2003 charge for stealing cable television on his record. His wife divorced him in 2016 and accused him of abuse, WKRC reports, but he was never arrested for anything related to domestic violence.
Thompson was ordered to be held on a $1 million bond Tuesday as he awaits his next court date. A grand jury date has been set for Feb. 6.
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