DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997              TAG: 9704170423

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NAOMI AOKI, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   91 lines

TEEN CHARGED IN SLAYING OF WOMAN, 73, IN OCEAN VIEW

A 15-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday and accused of raping and killing a 73-year-old Ocean View woman, whom neighbors and friends described as ``the angel of Hickory Street.''

The victim, Mary D. Franklin, was found dead in her home Sunday morning in the 9400 block of Hickory St., near Willoughby Spit and Norfolk Naval Air Station.

Paramedics who found the victim were responding to a call of a diabetic attack. At that time, police classified the death as suspicious but released no other details.

Early Wednesday morning, police arrested a 15-year-old boy and charged him with capital murder, rape and burglary, Norfolk police spokeswoman Moravia Ebon said.

Police would not release any other information about the case. They would not say how the woman died or offer a motive for the crime. ``It's a pending investigation and we must protect the integrity of the case,'' Ebon said.

Police also did not name the suspect, because he is a juvenile. Neighbors, however, said he lives one street from the victim, in the 9400 block of Mason Creek Road. Under state law, he will be tried as an adult.

Neighbors said Wednesday that the boy had conned Franklin out of $20 the day before she was murdered. He offered to mow her lawn, then skipped off with her money without doing the work, they said.

Another neighbor said he saw the boy walking down Hickory Street early Sunday morning, before the victim's body was found.

``I can't understand how anyone could do something like this to someone so sweet,'' said Cathy Conner, who has known Franklin for seven years.

Crimes against the elderly are rare, statistics show. Of all age groups, people age 65 and older are the least likely to be victimized, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.

In South Hampton Roads last year, three of the 122 murder victims were 65 or older.

On Wednesday, many neighbors described Franklin as a saint, the nicest lady they'd ever met and someone who would give anyone the shirt off her back.

Franklin, who was born in Milwaukee, had lived in the same Ocean View neighborhood for more than 30 years. She suffered a stroke and a heart attack more than a year ago, had to leave the neighborhood for a while, then returned recently, neighbors said. She was in a wheelchair.

Franklin's family gathered Wednesday at a house in the neighborhood. They declined to comment. Meanwhile, three friends and neighbors helped clean Franklin's house.

``I couldn't stand the thought of having her family do it,'' said one friend, Karen, who asked that her last name not be published.

Sitting on Franklin's front porch, the three described Franklin as a trusting soul who saw good in everyone. ``She was the angel of Hickory Street,'' said Teresa, who also asked that her last name not be published. ``All of our kids are just devastated.''

Franklin was like a grandmother to the neighborhood's children, neighbors said. She baked them cookies and listened to their troubles. She also gave them clothing, books and other gifts.

``She gave my 8-year-old boy this big history book, and he carries it around everywhere just because Mary gave it to him,'' said Gerald Hughes, one of the neighbors cleaning the house.

She also handed out supplies whenever a hurricane threatened.

Franklin taught religion and English at Norfolk Catholic and Portsmouth Catholic high schools and was a substitute teacher in Norfolk public schools.

``She was very religious,'' Hughes said. ``She'd give you anything, share anything with you.''

A statue of the Virgin Mary stands in Franklin's front yard and an American flag hangs from her house. A box of red and purple pansies, ready for planting, still sits on the front porch. Her white house with blue trim is small but neatly kept. Similar houses line the street.

The neighborhood has a friendly, small-town feel, said Hughes. ``Everybody knows each other,'' he said. ``We care about each other.''

That's part of the reason the crime is so shocking, Hughes said. ``I've been numb since it happened,'' he said.

But Hughes, Teresa and Karen are particularly worried about the neighborhood children.

Teresa's 10-year-old daughter has been sleeping in her mother's bed since the slaying Sunday, she said. Karen's 8-year-old daughter wanted her windows boarded up because she was so scared, Karen said. All of their children are seeing a school counselor.

``As parents, we have to stay strong for our kids,'' Teresa said. ``I've cried my share of tears since Mary died, but I wait until the kids go to school or to sleep.''

They are coping, they said, by staying busy and helping Franklin's family. The boy's arrest has given them some relief, they said.

``My main concern was capturing the killer real fast,'' Hughes said. ``Too many times, they just go free. I don't want that to happen here.''

The suspect will be arraigned today in juvenile court. Later, he will be transferred to Circuit Court to stand trial as an adult. MEMO: Staff writer Lynn Waltz contributed to this story. KEYWORDS: MURDER RAPE SEX CRIME ARREST

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