Frederick Franken, Sr., was sentenced to life without parole on April 26, 2023, after pleading no contest to First Degree Premeditated Murder for the death of his three-year-old son in their Niceville-area home in 2019. The Honorable Circuit Judge Terrance R. Ketchel imposed the mandatory prison sentence after the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

The court heard that on March 15, 2019, Mr. Franken emptied his bank account, mailed his cell phone to his daughter, who lived abroad, and sent photos of his son to his wife throughout the day. Mr. Franken then went home and stabbed his son to death before stabbing himself. He lay on the floor with his son for his wife to find them when she returned from work.

Assistant State Attorney Michelle Sandler, who prosecuted the case on behalf of Ginger Bowden Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, said: “Justice prevailed for the victim. The hard work of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office ensured that the State Attorney could guarantee that Mr. Franken will spend the rest of his life in prison for his horrific actions in taking the life of his own child.”