Michael Lee Franklin, of Tempe, will spend the rest of his life in prison for brutally murdering Bonnie Raudman in 2011. Under the terms of the sentence imposed today by Judge Joseph Kreamer, Franklin will not be eligible for release under any circumstances.
At 10:39 a.m. on Friday, September 30, 2011, Tempe Police Officers responded to a call reporting a death at the Raudman residence in the 2700 block of West Minton Drive. Upon arrival, they discovered 64-year-old Bonnie Raudman dead on the floor of her residence. Her car was missing from the garage and was later recovered about a mile from the home locked and parked on a city street. An investigation of the scene indicated that Bonnie had struggled, was injured and died inside the Arizona room of the home. Her death was determined to be a murder caused by blunt and sharp force injuries of the neck.
Bonnie’s husband, who was hospitalized at the time, told police that their neighbor across the street, Michael Franklin, had stolen prescription drugs from their home in the past. Bonnie had also told a neighbor to call the police if Michael was ever seen at their house. During their investigation, police were contacted by another neighbor who found items from the Raudman’s home in a trash dumpster. They also learned that Bonnie had made an ATM withdrawal at approximately 8:30 p.m. the previous evening. According to her husband and a friend however, Bonnie was not able to drive at night.
Fingerprints on the items recovered from the dumpster were identified as Michael Franklin’s. He was placed under surveillance and subsequently arrested on October 5, 2011. During an interview, Franklin admitted to stealing prescription drugs from the Raudmans in the past and, after providing numerous deceptive answers, admitted to being inside the home on the 29th. He also admitted to driving Bonnie to the bank in her car so she could withdraw money for him but denied stealing from her or hurting her.
On October 12, 2011, Franklin was indicted on one count of First Degree Murder, one count of Burglary in the First Degree and one count of Kidnapping. The State filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty. Franklin later waived his right to trial and agreed to plead guilty to the murder charge in exchange for the State dismissing the other charges and dropping the death penalty.
“While a natural life sentence is an appropriate and just punishment for an especially cruel and senseless act of violence committed by this defendant, it pales compared to the pain and suffering inflicted on the victim and her family,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “I join with those who mourn the senseless loss of a beloved member of our community and hope that today’s sentence can provide them with some measure of strength in bearing their burden of grief,” he added.