Taylor County case of girl allegedly kept in chicken coop comes to trial
Three years ago the news a Taylor County couple allegedly kept a teen girl in a chicken coop so shocked the public that it made headlines across the Atlantic:
“Police in Georgia are investigating claims that a 15-year-old girl was held captive in a chicken coop by her adoptive parents, and forced to perform manual labour,” reported England’s Daily Mail.
The child abuse arrests of adoptive parents Diana and Samuel Franklin also made news across the United States, as major TV networks picked up the story.
“The girl told investigators that for the past two years, she spent up to six days at a time in the small buildings behind the property as punishment for things such as failing to complete her school assignments,” reported CBS News in July 2012.
Now the case that gained so much attention when it came to light is coming to trial in Butler, Ga., the Taylor County seat, where Superior Court Judge Bobby Peters of Columbus is presiding. Taylor is among the six counties in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit that includes Columbus.
The wife and husband were indicted separately, and only the wife’s case is to be tried this week. She is charged with multiple counts of child cruelty and false imprisonment.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, agents arrested the Franklins July 10, 2012, having warrants charging Diana Franklin with 12 counts of first-degree child cruelty and four of false imprisonment.
The investigation began the previous May 25 when a tip led sheriff’s deputies and state Department of Family and Children Services workers to visit the Franklins’ home at 783 East Old Wire Road, the GBI said.
“The information indicated that the abuse included locking the child in a storage building, chicken coop and outhouse for days at a time,” the agency reported.
The girl immediately was removed from the Franklins’ custody, and Taylor County Sheriff Jeff Watson asked the GBI to investigate. The agency launched its probe May 30, 2012, and served a search warrant at the Franklins’ home the following June 4.
When arrested, Diana Franklin was 44 years old, and her husband was 46.
Neighbors told investigators they’d seen the girl doing manual labor in extreme heat, digging ditches and hauling rocks.
The adoptive parents allegedly made her sleep in a red hen house or other outbuilding, restricted her meals and forced her to do menial work as punishment.
Jury selection in the trial began Monday. The prosecutors are Wayne Jernigan Jr. and Peter Hoffman. The defense attorney is Kevin Bradley of Macon, Ga.
This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 4:43 PM.