Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Nailah Franklin's Alleged Killer Threatened To Release Sex Tape, Emails Say

By Erica Demarest | October 29, 2015 3:06pm
 Nailah Franklin went missing in September 2007. Her body turned up nine days later in a wooded area in southeast suburban Calumet City.
Nailah Franklin went missing in September 2007. Her body turned up nine days later in a wooded area in southeast suburban Calumet City.
View Full Caption
Facebook

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — On the day Nailah Franklin was reported missing, her then-boyfriend sent an email asking, "Are you alive?" he testified Thursday.

Andre Wright would never receive an answer.

His long-distance girlfriend turned up dead eight days later, on Sept. 27, 2007, in a wooded area in southeast suburban Calumet City. Reginald Potts, a man Franklin had briefly dated, was charged with the murder. His trial began this week after nearly eight years of delays.

Wright, an attorney who lived in Milwaukee in 2007, took the stand Thursday to describe meeting Franklin in July 2007 and having Scrabble battles with the pharmaceutical rep.

TRIAL DAY 1: Nailah Franklin's Jilted Ex Vowed to 'Erase' Her Before Murder: Prosecutors

Wright said he was planning to see Franklin on Sept. 19, 2007, the day she was reported missing.

But her phone went straight to voicemail on Sept. 18. That's the day prosecutors claim Potts murdered Franklin before texting people from her phone to pretend she was still alive. Wright said he received a cryptic text from Franklin's phone that evening claiming she was out at dinner. He never heard from her again.

Wright testified that it was odd for Franklin not to check in before bed. He sent her a brief email from work the next day, asking "Are you alive?" he said.

Wright was the third witness to take the stand since the trial started Wednesday.

Franklin's next-door neighbor, Sterling Gunn, testified that he saw Potts lurking in his and Franklin's garage on Sept. 16, 2007. Potts was standing near Pott's Bentley, Gunn said, and looking around.

Prosecutors have alleged that Potts stalked and harassed Franklin in the days leading up to her death. According to court testimony, the pair dated briefly, but Franklin became upset when Potts lied about seeing other women and having children.

After Franklin shared a news article about Potts' past legal woes, prosecutors said, Potts left Franklin a voicemail claiming he would "erase" her. According to emails read aloud in court, Potts threatened to distribute a sex tape he allegedly made with Franklin.

In court Wednesday, prosecutors played a voicemail in which Potts told Franklin, "I'm very wealthy. I will always have women around me. Understand that."

On Thursday, as the trial continued into its second day, Frankin's best friend and one of her co-workers shared memories about Franklin. The co-worker remembered seeing Potts out with another woman, but didn't think much of it because Franklin never saw Potts as long-term boyfriend material.

The trial will continue Thursday afternoon. Another of Franklin's neighbors is expected to testify.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: