GUILFORD, N.Y. – Authorities have charged a New York couple with killing their teenage son and setting their rural upstate home on fire to cover up the crime.
The Chenango (shuh-NANG'-goh) County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday that 35-year-old Ernest Franklin II and 33-year-old Heather Franklin have been charged with second-degree murder, arson and tampering with physical evidence.
Officials say a fire was reported around 1:15 a.m. March 1 at the family's home in the town of Guilford, 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of Syracuse. The couple's son, 16-year-old Jeffrey Franklin, was found dead inside.
Sheriff Ernest Cutting says an autopsy determined the fire didn't cause the teen's death and that he was dead before the fire started.
Police haven't said how the boy was killed.
It couldn't be immediately determined from the county district attorney's office if the Franklins have lawyers.
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