Countywide : Autopsy Confirms Judge Killed Himself With Gun
An autopsy Thursday confirmed that Orange County Superior Court Judge James R. Franks II committed suicide by firing a single gunshot into his chest, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.
Lt. Richard J. Olson said a preliminary autopsy showed that Franks died of one shot from a 9-millimeter handgun. Toxicological tests were performed, but the results will not be available for six to eight weeks, Olson said.
The jurist’s body was discovered Wednesday in a wooded area of Trabuco Canyon.
Franks, 49, had been presiding over the triple-murder trial of Thomas Maniscalco in Superior Court in Santa Ana but had taken a paid sick leave several weeks ago. He reportedly suffered from emphysema.
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