It will be three years ago on Saturday that the body of a murdered transgender woman was discovered in a ditch in Jacksonville. In that time, a Jacksonville Police detective and his colleagues have spent hundreds of hours tracking down clues in the Jenna Franks case. PRE’s Annette Weston-Riggs sat down with him this week.
Jacksonville police and the FBI continue to search for those responsible for the murder of Jenna Franks, a transgender woman whose body was found in the woods near a bike trail on near Ellis Boulevard and White Street on February 24, 2021.
“Our streets division was actually in the process of clearing out debris from the drainage ditches in the area in Jacksonville,” Jacksonville Police Detective Detective Scott Eichelberger said, “While they were cleaning those drainage ditches and they found a body in the wooded area, which was later identified as Jenna Franks.”
Jacksonville Police are investigating Jenna’s stabbing death as a possible hate crime, and Eichelberger said she likely knew her killer – and probably went willingly to meet with the person or the people that harmed her.
He said although three years have passed, this is not a cold case and it remains an active investigation.
“We know that somebody out there knows maybe one small piece of information that they might not think would be significant,” he said, “But it would probably be significant to us. So, we’re just asking for any help that we can to try to bring some closure for the family.”
And Eichelberger said in the intervening years they’ve conducted many interviews with people connected to Jenna and the case. “Dozens of people, conducted numerous investigations, not only talking to people within the city limits of Jacksonville, but people in Onslow County, people outside of Onslow County. So, we’ve received numerous tips and leads to follow up on, and we follow up on every single one that we receive.”
“We’re also liaisoning with the FBI in this investigation,” he added, “They’re a good tool. They have a lot of a lot of things to bring to the table and assist with the investigation.”
Despite the high level of attention Jenna’s murder has received, Detective Eichelberger said violent crimes against members of the LGBT community aren’t common in his city.
“Not really. It doesn’t happen very often at all.”
For decades, however, people in the transgender community nationwide have faced disproportionately high rates of violence and hate crimes, and in 2022, the number of gender identity-based hate crimes reported by the FBI increased by 37% compared to the year before.
Just over a year ago in Wilmington, 27-year-old transgender woman KC Johnson, disappeared and her body was found on the banks of the Savannah River in Georgia. Investigators say KC met William Hicks on a dating app before he killed her with a hammer. He is awaiting trial on first-degree murder, kidnapping, and other charges.
A report from the Human Rights Campaign shows at least 32 transgender and gender-expansive people were murdered in the U.S. in 2023.
The first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity is underway this week in South Carolina, where prosecutors say Daqua Ritter coaxed the unnamed woman into driving to a sparsely populated rural area before shooting her three times in the head.
Detective Eichelberger said Jenna’s friends or acquaintances may hold the key to solving her case.
“If anybody who knew Jenna and hasn’t reached out to us, if they could reach out to us. Like I said, that one small piece of information that they might know that that might have been forgotten at the time or somebody didn’t think was significant might be a big key factor now and it be another avenue or lead for us to follow up on.”
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of Jenna’s killer or killers, and there is also a reward of up to $5,000 from the Jacksonville police department.
People can reach out directly to Detective Eichelberger directly at 910-938-6440. He said anyone with information that wants to remain anonymous can provide a tip through Onslow County Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273.
