A 53-year-old man is facing murder charges in connection with the slaying of his wife, whose body was found last week in Bridgeville’s Heritage Shores — a golf course community with housing for people ages 55 and older.
Robert Franks was arrested on Monday in South Philadelphia’s Point Breeze neighborhood. He was awaiting extradition to Delaware, where he will be charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, 57-year-old Cynthia Moss-Franks.
Delaware State Police have not said how Moss-Franks was killed.
Original story:State police launch investigation after woman found dead in Bridgeville home, car missing
The investigation began shortly after family members were unable to contact Moss-Franks and they reached out to Bridgeville police, who were dispatched to her home on Champions Drive about 9:10 a.m. on Friday.
Arriving officers found her dead and police said “it appeared she was the victim of a homicide.”
Delaware State Police assumed the investigation at the request of Bridgeville police, which hasn’t reported a homicide since Dec. 2, 2021, when 58-year-old Joseph Caldarera fatally shot his brother-in-law, 71-year-old Peter Colletti, before killing himself.
More:2 family members die in apparent murder-suicide at Bridgeville’s Heritage Shores home
The 2021 incident also occurred in Heritage Shores, a little over a mile drive from where Moss-Franks was found.
Through investigative measures, investigators linked her husband to the killing, said Senior Cpl. Leonard DeMalto, a state police spokesperson.
With assistance from Pennsylvania State Police and Philadelphia Police Department, Franks was taken into custody on Monday while in the 2400 block of Dickinson St. — a block that consists of mostly residential housing and the Redeemer Christian Life and Education Center.
When announcing Moss-Franks’ death on Saturday, police said her silver 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS bearing Delaware vanity registration “YCANTI” was missing. Police, on Wednesday, said the vehicle had been found unoccupied in Philadelphia.
Anyone with information regarding the vehicle’s location is asked to contact Detective David Grassi of the state police’s homicide unit at (302) 365-8441 or by email at Daniel.Grassi@delaware.gov. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
