Jonathan Francia Murder Case - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

lilmissd · 10-31-2007, 02:52 PM

Does anyone remember this case from the early to mid 90's about this kid who was 16-17 yrs. old who was found dead in the trunk of his car out in the desert? I think it was in Arizona. Anyways there was a guy who claimed to have met his killers. He said that they had been washing their car, and he thinks the kid had been in the trunk at that time and that's why they were acting nervous and figitey and stuff. The witness said the guy's name was "Jason" and gave a vivid detail to the police sketch artist. Does anyone know if this case has been solved and if anyone has found "Jason"?

Zero · 11-03-2007, 01:34 AM

I believe the victim was actually from New Mexico. Maybe Albuquerque! I believe he was abducted while sitting outside a restaurant. He was found out in the Arizona desert. The area lies in the jurisdiction of the Coconino County sheriffs department.

I don't know if "Jason" was ever found. The other man involved was taken into custody where he confessed, then hung himself a day or two later. Don't know whatever became of this mans girlfriend/wife. If she knew anything or not. "Jason" was said to be a drifter.

baton_man · 11-07-2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zero

I believe the victim was actually from New Mexico. Maybe Albuquerque! I believe he was abducted while sitting outside a restaurant. He was found out in the Arizona desert. The area lies in the jurisdiction of the Coconino County sheriffs department.

I don't know if "Jason" was ever found. The other man involved was taken into custody where he confessed, then hung himself a day or two later. Don't know whatever became of this mans girlfriend/wife. If she knew anything or not. "Jason" was said to be a drifter.

Crystal was this story ever on any of your DVDs. If not can you consider it for vol 12.

crystaldawn · 11-07-2007, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baton_man

Crystal was this story ever on any of your DVDs. If not can you consider it for vol 12.

I don't believe so. It was the segment where they profile Jeannie Boylen and her amazing work on composite sketches. Yes it would be a good one for volume 12.

kadrmas15 · 11-09-2007, 05:29 PM

I believe this "Jason" is rumored to be a serial killer. Supposedly he has been sighted rather frequently in both the Las Vegas area and the Phoenix, Arizona area.

Zero · 11-14-2007, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kadrmas15

I believe this "Jason" is rumored to be a serial killer. Supposedly he has been sighted rather frequently in both the Las Vegas area and the Phoenix, Arizona area.

Did you get this info from the show, or did you see it somewhere else?

kadrmas15 · 11-14-2007, 03:42 AM

It came from the show, at the end of the segment if I remember right. It was when they had the composite drawing of "Jason" that Stack mentioned the stuff about "Jason" having been seen elsewhere since the Francia murder.

James T · 11-26-2007, 08:20 AM

Just watched this one on Volume 12, as with some of the segments it raises a lot of questions- Why was his female friends husband Paul involved with a killing with what seems a remote drifter? she must have known about the killing if she went with them when they had the body in the boot you would think but was she ever questioned? what was the motive? I am guessing a kid that age probably did not have that much money, they burnt his car out so only got a few days use of it- was it just a thrill killing as I assume there was nothing sexual about it- certainly strange as usually these people would target a female rather than a male who may put up a much stronger fight.

Zero · 11-26-2007, 09:18 PM

Maybe it was all "Jason" and the other guy just helped him out. Maybe they just wanted to "rough up" Jonathan and went a little too far. Either way, Paul was looking at hard time. Both for helping "Jason" kill Jonathan and for disposing of his body.

Hard time. It wasn't like Paul and Jason realized he was dead and immediately got rid of him on the side of the road or something. They shoved him in the trunk. Waited. Took time to come up with, in their minds, a "fool proof" plan to get rid of the victim. Paul and his wife took the time to get "Jason" out of the area.

With regards to Pauls wife, while there is no mention of what became of her, we can't rule out the possibility that she was questioned and maybe even charged with something. However, she may have made an agreement with the police. Maybe she spilled her guts about what her husband and "Jason" did in exchange for freedom.

Or maybe not. Maybe she was arrested. With the disappearance of "Jason", and the death of her husband, there was no longer any witnesses to the actual crime, or the disposing of the body. No one was around to implicate her in anything. If she said "I don't know anything", maybe they had to let her go?

All in all, I think the producers of UM realize they must leave out certain details to make sure that everything relevant makes it on to the segment.

Zero · 02-20-2008, 08:29 PM

I called the Albuquerque police department and asked if I could possibly get any details on this case. Yes, I know that the victim was found in Arizona, but being that he was kidnapped in Albuquerque, and I'm not too far away from the place, I just figured I'd ask here first.

Anyway the receptionist kept asking me why I would want information. Whether or not I had any details that would help law enforcement on this case. I told her it was just a case that I remembered and was wondering if it had ever been solved. She advised me that she didn't believe that any details of the case could be shared with me just because I was interested in it. She also told me that if I was allowed to get the information, I would have to pay 50 cents per page, and most homicide cases have five hundred pages or so.

So I think I'll call the cold case department in Coconino County Arizona and see what they tell me.

Todd Mueller · 02-21-2008, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zero

Anyway the receptionist kept asking me why I would want information. Whether or not I had any details that would help law enforcement on this case. I told her it was just a case that I remembered and was wondering if it had ever been solved.

Funny you mention that...

Everytime I've had an inkling to e-mail a police department about a UM case, that thought goes through my mind. I wonder how much they would release to just the public, and it might be inviting more attention than it's worth.

It's a shame that it has to be that way. Anyone ever tried to get info under the Freedom of Information Act? And is that just federal or can you do that with the local cops? I seriously doubt it but I honestly don't know.

Thanks for trying anyway, Zero!

kadrmas15 · 02-21-2008, 01:46 AM

Well, you have to make the FOIA request. Assuming your request is granted you would be able to get most if not all the documents. However because this is an open investigation some stuff might be withheld. Also, if you wanted to get all the stuff from the case, if you included shipping costs it would probably cost 500, 600 dollars, that is about the average for a murder case. For just one case that is how much it would cost to get all the stuff!

There was a case I was investigating in Florida and I wanted to get access to all the stuff and I was told it would cost about 500 or so dollars to copy all the stuff plus another 100 dollars to ship it all to me. That was just the stuff from the case that didnt include trial transcripts and all that which would have cost another few hundred dollars to copy and ship to me so it is expensive.

crystaldawn · 02-21-2008, 09:58 AM

Zero, maybe you should mention the board when inquiring about info. I've had some luck in trying to track down updates and I always tell them I moderate the internet's largest UM message board and am looking for info because this case aired on UM and I would like to post the info on the board. The ones that respond back are usually glad to help when they know why you want the info. Just a thought.

Zero · 02-21-2008, 09:43 PM

Well today I called the sheriffs dept. in Coconino County Az. Their standard procedure is to get a name and number, forward it to a "police officer" and return the call. Since I was weary about that, I said I'd call back.

I think I'll just email them about the case and mention the board and why I want the information.

Sigh....

CowboyStudTied · 04-17-2009, 01:50 PM

this case was the cowboy murderer case I believe that the kid had a freind that the guy had a freind named jason and he had blood on himself so they kidnapped the kid and killed him

10-31-2007, 02:52 PM	#1
lilmissd Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 28, 2007 Location: AZ Posts: 172	Jonathan Francia Murder Case Does anyone remember this case from the early to mid 90's about this kid who was 16-17 yrs. old who was found dead in the trunk of his car out in the desert? I think it was in Arizona. Anyways there was a guy who claimed to have met his killers. He said that they had been washing their car, and he thinks the kid had been in the trunk at that time and that's why they were acting nervous and figitey and stuff. The witness said the guy's name was "Jason" and gave a vivid detail to the police sketch artist. Does anyone know if this case has been solved and if anyone has found "Jason"?

11-03-2007, 01:34 AM	#2
Zero Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2003 Posts: 495	I remember I believe the victim was actually from New Mexico. Maybe Albuquerque! I believe he was abducted while sitting outside a restaurant. He was found out in the Arizona desert. The area lies in the jurisdiction of the Coconino County sheriffs department. I don't know if "Jason" was ever found. The other man involved was taken into custody where he confessed, then hung himself a day or two later. Don't know whatever became of this mans girlfriend/wife. If she knew anything or not. "Jason" was said to be a drifter.
	__________________ "Are we ourselves, and do we really know?"

11-09-2007, 05:29 PM	#5
kadrmas15 Retired from Board 03/03/11 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,910	I believe this "Jason" is rumored to be a serial killer. Supposedly he has been sighted rather frequently in both the Las Vegas area and the Phoenix, Arizona area.

11-14-2007, 03:42 AM	#7
kadrmas15 Retired from Board 03/03/11 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,910	It came from the show, at the end of the segment if I remember right. It was when they had the composite drawing of "Jason" that Stack mentioned the stuff about "Jason" having been seen elsewhere since the Francia murder.

11-26-2007, 08:20 AM	#8
James T Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 23, 2006 Location: England Posts: 1,571	Just watched this one on Volume 12, as with some of the segments it raises a lot of questions- Why was his female friends husband Paul involved with a killing with what seems a remote drifter? she must have known about the killing if she went with them when they had the body in the boot you would think but was she ever questioned? what was the motive? I am guessing a kid that age probably did not have that much money, they burnt his car out so only got a few days use of it- was it just a thrill killing as I assume there was nothing sexual about it- certainly strange as usually these people would target a female rather than a male who may put up a much stronger fight.

11-26-2007, 09:18 PM	#9
Zero Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2003 Posts: 495	Maybe it was all "Jason" and the other guy just helped him out. Maybe they just wanted to "rough up" Jonathan and went a little too far. Either way, Paul was looking at hard time. Both for helping "Jason" kill Jonathan and for disposing of his body. Hard time. It wasn't like Paul and Jason realized he was dead and immediately got rid of him on the side of the road or something. They shoved him in the trunk. Waited. Took time to come up with, in their minds, a "fool proof" plan to get rid of the victim. Paul and his wife took the time to get "Jason" out of the area. With regards to Pauls wife, while there is no mention of what became of her, we can't rule out the possibility that she was questioned and maybe even charged with something. However, she may have made an agreement with the police. Maybe she spilled her guts about what her husband and "Jason" did in exchange for freedom. Or maybe not. Maybe she was arrested. With the disappearance of "Jason", and the death of her husband, there was no longer any witnesses to the actual crime, or the disposing of the body. No one was around to implicate her in anything. If she said "I don't know anything", maybe they had to let her go? All in all, I think the producers of UM realize they must leave out certain details to make sure that everything relevant makes it on to the segment.

02-20-2008, 08:29 PM	#10
Zero Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2003 Posts: 495	I called the Albuquerque police department and asked if I could possibly get any details on this case. Yes, I know that the victim was found in Arizona, but being that he was kidnapped in Albuquerque, and I'm not too far away from the place, I just figured I'd ask here first. Anyway the receptionist kept asking me why I would want information. Whether or not I had any details that would help law enforcement on this case. I told her it was just a case that I remembered and was wondering if it had ever been solved. She advised me that she didn't believe that any details of the case could be shared with me just because I was interested in it. She also told me that if I was allowed to get the information, I would have to pay 50 cents per page, and most homicide cases have five hundred pages or so. So I think I'll call the cold case department in Coconino County Arizona and see what they tell me.

02-21-2008, 01:46 AM	#12
kadrmas15 Retired from Board 03/03/11 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,910	Well, you have to make the FOIA request. Assuming your request is granted you would be able to get most if not all the documents. However because this is an open investigation some stuff might be withheld. Also, if you wanted to get all the stuff from the case, if you included shipping costs it would probably cost 500, 600 dollars, that is about the average for a murder case. For just one case that is how much it would cost to get all the stuff! There was a case I was investigating in Florida and I wanted to get access to all the stuff and I was told it would cost about 500 or so dollars to copy all the stuff plus another 100 dollars to ship it all to me. That was just the stuff from the case that didnt include trial transcripts and all that which would have cost another few hundred dollars to copy and ship to me so it is expensive.

02-21-2008, 09:58 AM	#13
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	Zero, maybe you should mention the board when inquiring about info. I've had some luck in trying to track down updates and I always tell them I moderate the internet's largest UM message board and am looking for info because this case aired on UM and I would like to post the info on the board. The ones that respond back are usually glad to help when they know why you want the info. Just a thought.

02-21-2008, 09:43 PM	#14
Zero Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2003 Posts: 495	Well today I called the sheriffs dept. in Coconino County Az. Their standard procedure is to get a name and number, forward it to a "police officer" and return the call. Since I was weary about that, I said I'd call back. I think I'll just email them about the case and mention the board and why I want the information. Sigh....

04-17-2009, 01:50 PM	#15
CowboyStudTied Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 06, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 54	this case was the cowboy murderer case I believe that the kid had a freind that the guy had a freind named jason and he had blood on himself so they kidnapped the kid and killed him