Nearly three months after Nailah Franklin went missing, the man accused of her murder appeared in court. Reginald Potts formally heard the charges before him. It was made public by prosecutors that Potts' alibis were discounted by technology.
Reginald Potts told the judge he wanted his own attorney present. The judge proceeded Monday as Potts was represented by a public defender. The Cook County first assistant state's attorney laid out a series of events after Nailah Franklin disappeared that lead to Potts' being charged with first degree murder.
Franklin was a pharmaceutical sales rep for Eli Lilly and was last seen September 18. She had seen Potts, but according to the prosecutors, she made it clear in a series of e-mails she didn't want to continue to see him. They said he left a threatening voicemail saying he would have her erased.
"She was leaving, breaking up with. It was very clear from that. It's not the first time we have had a case like this and it won't be the last time that somebody won't accept the end of a relationship," said Bob Milan, Cook County first assistant state's attorney.
Franklin's family appealed to the public for days as the search continued. On September 27 her body was found in Calumet City.
Prosecutors say video surveillance showed Potts with Frankin at Franklin's building the day she disappeared and that Potts' cell phone record determined he was not where he said he was during key points of the investigation. Instead, prosecutors allege the cell phone records prove Potts was close to the scenes where Franklin's belongings were found and where she was found.
"I can pinpoint a very small area in the city, within a half-mile of where you're at. These cell phone records indicated that both he and Ms. Franklin were together during all these periods of times that we talked about. It puts him right there," said Milan.
Hearing the details read in court was difficult for those who knew Franklin.
"It was just hurtful and shocking to know someone could do something like that and premeditate to that degree. It's very, very detailed," said Takisha Walters, Franklin family friend.
"I feel a little bit better that we've reached this point, and we're on our way to some closure, or if not some resolution. We probably won't get any closure, but we'll get some resolution," said Dwayne Johnson, Franklin's uncle.
Another piece that adds to the Prosecutors' case: they say Potts had a friend pick him up a block away from where Franklin's car was found in Hammond, Indiana.
Nailah Franklin went to police and reported the threatening voicemail the week before her disappearance. Police recommended she get a protection order.
Potts has eight felony convictions and has two orders of protection made by his ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend.
