Killer of Mother’s Fiance Gets 25-to-Life
A Los Angeles man who decapitated his mother’s fiance was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years to life in prison.
Marcus Darnell Jacobs, 26, was found guilty last month of first-degree murder in the slaying of Legrand Franklin.
On Jan. 17, 2002, Franklin’s headless body was found upside down in a trash can about 300 feet from the Crenshaw area apartment the two shared. Authorities had to use fingerprints to identify the victim, 54.
The motive behind the beheading remains a mystery, authorities said. Ruth Jacobs, Marcus’ mother, said in court documents that the two had a tender relationship.
“They got along good. He was my fiance and he treated Marcus like [a] stepson,” she said. “They didn’t have no issues while I was around.”
Deputy Public Defender John Carr asked to have the charge reduced, arguing that his client was mentally ill. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Norman P. Tarle denied the motion and imposed the sentence.
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