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Bride Allegedly Murders Groom Before Wedding

By Deanne Katz, Esq. on August 14, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The day of a wedding you expect the headlines to be 'bride marries groom,' not 'bride murders groom.'

Na cola Darcel Franklin unfortunately got the latter headline on Saturday morning when she was arrested for killing her fiance, Billy Rafael Brewster. The couple had planned to marry at 10 am but Brewster died hours before that from a stab wound.

Franklin is allegedly the person who stabbed Brewster although she claims she didn't kill him on purpose.

The night before the wedding the couple got into a fight at their apartment. In the heat of the argument Franklin reportedly stabbed Brewster twice with a knife before family members separated them.

Police were called to the scene around 2 am, reports New York Daily News. They found Brewster bleeding on the balcony. He died about an hour later from his injuries.

Franklin was arrested Saturday morning and arraigned in the afternoon of what would have been her wedding day. She was charged with homicide.

Homicide is the umbrella term for any killing involving a human. Both murder and manslaughter fall under that term. The difference is the defendant's intent at the time.

Murder requires that the defendant intended to kill the victim. Whether the action was premeditated determines whether the charge is first or second degree murder.

Manslaughter is the charge when the defendant did not intend to kill the victim but their behavior was criminally negligent or reckless and resulted in death.

Given Franklin's shock upon hearing that Brewster was dead, there is the chance that she really did not mean to kill him. If that's the case, she likely would not be charged with murder.

Police are still trying to discover what really happened when the bride allegedly murdered the groom early Saturday morning. In the meantime the bride is being held in Lehigh County Prison without bail.

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