Brad Russ
02-22-2006, 03:17 PM
MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man has confessed to bludgeoning his roommate to death with a sledgehammer handle and a claw hammer after an argument that started over an empty roll of toilet paper, authorities said Tuesday.
Franklin Paul Crow, 56, was arrested early Monday and later charged with murder in the beating death of 58-year-old Kenneth Matthews in the small town of Moss Bluff, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Capt. Jimmy Pogue said Crow told investigators he grabbed the sledgehammer and claw hammer after Matthews, who rented the mobile home where the two lived, armed himself with a rifle during their altercation.
He later confessed to using the work tools to strike Matthews, who was so badly beaten he had to be identified through fingerprints, about 10 times, Pogue said.
"There were only two people there, Mr. Crow and Mr. Matthews, and unfortunately Mr. Matthews is deceased, so we pretty much just have to go by what Mr. Crow says," Pogue said. "He says that the argument started over an empty roll of toilet paper."
Crow was being held in the Marion County jail without bond. His court-appointed lawyer could not be reached for immediate comment.
Franklin Paul Crow, 56, was arrested early Monday and later charged with murder in the beating death of 58-year-old Kenneth Matthews in the small town of Moss Bluff, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Capt. Jimmy Pogue said Crow told investigators he grabbed the sledgehammer and claw hammer after Matthews, who rented the mobile home where the two lived, armed himself with a rifle during their altercation.
He later confessed to using the work tools to strike Matthews, who was so badly beaten he had to be identified through fingerprints, about 10 times, Pogue said.
"There were only two people there, Mr. Crow and Mr. Matthews, and unfortunately Mr. Matthews is deceased, so we pretty much just have to go by what Mr. Crow says," Pogue said. "He says that the argument started over an empty roll of toilet paper."
Crow was being held in the Marion County jail without bond. His court-appointed lawyer could not be reached for immediate comment.