Whitehall Bride-to-be Kills Fiance on Their Wedding Day

I’m sure the days leading up to a wedding are stressful. There is a lot to plan and probably a lot of loose ends to tie up. You want to make sure the cake is perfect, your dress fits exactly how you want it, and that all of your guests are happy.

So, you should probably drink some tea and get a bunch of good nights worth of sleep.

Or you can kill your husband-to-be to relieve the stress.

“You got to check again!” Na Cola Darcel Franklin pleaded to the judge during her arraignment Saturday afternoon.

The 31-year-old Whitehall Township woman apparently was unable to comprehend that her fiance, Billy Rafeal Brewster, 36, was dead — and that she was being charged with murdering him on their wedding day.

District Judge Donna Butler responded matter-of-factly.

“He was pronounced dead by the Lehigh County coroner earlier today,” she said.

Franklin wailed and covered her face in her hands.

“I want my family back,” she gasped, rocking gently back and forth. “I want to go home.”

“You are not going home any time in the near future,” Butler told the would-be bride.

Police were called to Franklin and Brewster’s apartment at 1580 Olympic Circle North at 2:19 a.m. Saturday. When they arrived, officers saw Brewster bleeding from the torso as he lay on the landing outside his apartment.

He was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, but was pronounced dead at 3:24 a.m., Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said in a news release.

The Lehigh County coroner’s office said the cause of death was a stab wound. The preliminary investigation revealed two stab wounds on Brewster’s left torso that resulted in a punctured heart.

Franklin, who already had been disarmed by Brewster’s cousin and his wife, was arrested and brought to Lehigh County Prison in Allentown, police said. She was arraigned by Butler, whose office is in Emmaus, via video conferencing.

Franklin, looking dazed, appeared before the camera in a prison jumpsuit and neat, shoulder-length hair.

Butler read the charge aloud and asked Franklin if she understood it. Franklin stared into the camera, mute.

Did she understand the charge — one count of homicide — Butler asked her again.

Crying, Franklin choked out the words one at a time, each interrupted by sobs.

“I … did … not … kill … him … on … purpose,” she said.

Franklin and Brewster were supposed to marry at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to a police affidavit. SOURCE: The Morning Call

There has to be a lot more to the story, but, wowsers. 

I’ll be honest, I had a long weekend of Musikfesting and I’m firing on about 3 cylinders right now. So, as much as I want to make a joke about “white weddings” and such, it will just have to wait.

In the meantime, check out our ever expanding Musikfest Photo Scavenger Hunt Gallery. You can submit up until tomorrow, Tuesday, August 14. We’ll announce all winners before the end of the week.