NORWICH – The adopted parents of a now deceased 16-year-old boy Jeffrey Franklin – have been subsequently indicted in the Chenango County grand jury, as of March 24, 2017.

According to a press release on the matter, “Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride and Chenango County Sheriff Ernest R. Cutting Jr. report that defendants were indicted on Friday March 24, 2017 by a Chenango County grand jury.”

Both defendant’s – Ernest F. Franklin II, age 35, and Heather Franklin, age 33, both of 457 State Highway 8 – are now officially charged with murder in the second degree, arson in the third degree, and tampering with physical evidence.

The two murder indictments followed an investigation into a fire at the couples residence on March 1, 2017. Following said fire, it was originally reported that their adopted son, Jeffrey, was killed by the house fire.