Family of murdered couple speaks at defendants' sentencing

Eighteen months after the murders of Malinda Moore, 28, and Brent Roscoe, 36, their families had a chance to address two women involved in their deaths.

Fourteen family members filled the spectators’ seats in the Lucas County Common Pleas courtroom of Judge Ian English for the sentencings Monday of Riley Franke and Camryn Chase. In April, Franke pleaded guilty to burglary and robbery and Chase pleaded guilty to two counts of murder.

Judge English sentenced Franke, 20, of the 2300 block of Starr Avenue in Oregon, to 13 to 16 years in prison and Chase, 24, of the 500 block of Leach Avenue in Toledo, to two consecutive life terms with parole eligibility after 30 years.

Chase faced more severe charges for her role as a planner and for actually entering the house to carry out the Nov. 10, 2022, robbery and murders. She did not, however, pull the trigger that killed the young couple. Their shooter, Prince Jones, 24, died in a shootout with police in East Toledo several hours after the crime.

Franke faced lesser charges for driving Mr. Jones and Chase to the house on the 2700 block of Albion Street knowing they intended to rob it, but she did not actually enter with them.

Franke tearfully apologized Monday morning to the families while saying she never would have driven the car had she known it would lead to murder. Her lawyer, Phillip Carlisle, similarly acknowledged that his client recognized she was going to prison, but urged Judge English to deliver a fair punishment.

The court then heard statements from Tina Mosqueda and Latisha Roscoe, speaking on behalf of the Moore and Roscoe families respectively. Ms. Mosqueda, wearing a shirt with her niece’s smiling face on it, began her statement by expressing her outrage about Franke’s remorse, asking why she did not call the police either during or after the shooting if she was opposed.

“She was there before, after, and didn’t turn herself in,” Ms. Mosqueda said. “She is not a victim. I will never forgive her for what she did to Malinda. … I can’t even bring myself past the house where Malinda was killed. I don’t think I ever will.”

Pausing to control her sobs and wipe her face with a tissue, she then highlighted the joy her niece carried and how Franke, Chase, and Mr. Jones had robbed her family and the world of that. She asked Judge English to deliver a maximum sentence to send a message that gun violence and murder will be punished the fullest extent.

Ms. Roscoe expressed similar sentiments and added that the families believed the crime never would have happened without Franke’s assistance.

“I think it’s a misconception in the world that being a getaway driver—or in this case, a get-to driver—makes you less responsible,” Judge English said, before pronouncing the sentence. “The opposite is true. You are as responsible for murder.… What you did made it possible for two people to murder.”

Judge English then told Franke that while her eventual cooperation with police ensured she would not face murder charges, he felt compelled to impose a serious punishment reflecting her role in the crime. He gave her six years each, and consecutively, for robbery and burglary, plus a one-year firearms specification. Franke could serve up to an additional three years if she misbehaves in prison.

Ronnie Wingate, Chase’s lawyer, kept his remarks brief before her sentencing.

“There’s nothing I can say that will assuage these families’ hurt and pain,” Mr. Wingate said before arguing Chase did not act maliciously. “Sometimes people get involved in situations. They don’t get involved for nefarious reasons.”

Chase’s actions were driven, the lawyer said, by a drug addiction she could not control and her intent was to rob for drugs.

Mr. Wingate then read a letter Chase had written in which she asked the families for forgiveness and clarified that “it was never my intent to cause any harm, let alone for them to lose their precious lives.”

When asked if she had anything to add, Chase said several times in a quiet voice that she was sorry, but otherwise let Mr. Wingate’s reading of her letter stand for itself.

Returning to the prosecutors’ table, Ms. Mosqueda said the pain of burying a child was indescribable and Ms. Moore’s death had made it hard for her to celebrate others’ weddings, childbirths, and other life milestones knowing her niece will never be able to experience them.

She asked Judge English to keep Chase from ever seeing daylight outside of prison.

“I cry all the time,” she said. “I cry when I get up, on my way to work, when I go to bed. … I am angry. I have hate in my heart. I am angry at God.”

Ms. Roscoe said Chase’s role as the orchestrator of a deliberate crime added to her own desire for a harsh punishment. After describing Mr. Roscoe’s role as a pillar of their family and community, she ended her tearful remarks on a note of hope.

“We hope she [Chase] uses her time of incarceration to help others evade the same path,” she said.

Judge English briefly addressed Chase before delivering a life sentence with parole eligibility only after 30 years. She received credit for 501 days already served, while Franke was credited with 29 days.

While the sentencing gives the victims’ families their desired outcomes, solace will be harder to find, Ms. Roscoe explained in her statement during Franke’s hearing.

“Their absence is felt in every moment, their laughter a memory,” she said.