
A father and daughter in Ohio reportedly had an argument about smoking indoors, and moments later, one of them was dead. Franklin Thompson, 64, allegedly shot his 24-year-old daughter, Heather Thompson, during a dispute inside their Sycamore Township home.
Following the deadly shooting, Thompson reportedly left, and his other daughter found her older sister on the floor with a gunshot wound. In a panic, she called 911 for help.
According to Fox 19, the unnamed sister attempted CPR while waiting for help to arrive. Deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office also tried CPR while waiting for paramedics, who took the young woman to Bethesda North Hospital where staff pronounced her dead. The deputies began searching for Franklin Thompson, eventually finding him in his own neighborhood. He allegedly still had the gun and blood splatters on his clothing.
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WCOP spoke to Michael Vaughn and Jess Gilbert, a husband and wife living in the area. The couple recalled hearing a gunshot about midnight the night Franklin Thompson allegedly killed his daughter. Vaughn and Gilbert watched as police apprehended him.
“They definitely picked him up off the ground and carried him towards the vehicle,” Gilbert recalled.
The couple admitted they feared for their safety and that of their daughter as the situation unfolded.
“I checked the windows and make sure they’re locked. I walked in there every few minutes, checked on her, make sure she was OK,” Gilbert described to WCOP.
She added that she prayed the family would heal from the devastating tragedy.
“I really hope that they’re, they’re gonna be able to get through it OK, cause I know that’s difficult. It has to be,” Gilbert shared.
Per court documents obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer, Franklin Thompson allegedly admitted to the shooting in an interview with police and expressed no remorse during his arrest. Beth Merrit, a friend of Heather Thompson’s sister, told WKEF the news devastated her.
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She recalled a time when Franklin Thompson allegedly kicked his younger daughter out of the house and said, “Don’t ever come back. I’m not your father. You aren’t my daughter. Leave. Never come back. If you do, I might shoot you.”
Merrit added, “These girls had been through such tragedy. And now this.”
Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor David Hickenlooper argued Thompson is a danger to society and recommended a $1 million bond, per WKEF.
“If he’s willing to do this to his own daughter, we’d be very concerned what he would do to a stranger if he were released,” Hickenlooper said.
The judge agreed, and Franklin Thompson is being held in Hamilton County Jail, charged with murder.
Jazmin Bernal created a GoFundMe account to assist with final expenses. “It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic loss of Heather Thompson, who was taken from us far too soon. Heather was a kind and hardworking soul, a giver who always put others first, and a light to everyone fortunate enough to know her,” she wrote on the fundraiser. “Her love and generosity touched so many lives, and her absence leaves an unfillable void in our hearts.”
The GoFundMe has brought in $5,400 of a $7,000 goal thus far.