VIDEO: Body Cam, Police & Court Records - The Story of the Francis's Murder-Suicide
GoLocalProv News Team and Josh Fenton
VIDEO: Body Cam, Police & Court Records - The Story of the Francis's Murder-Suicide
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During our history, dozens of women have been killed in Rhode Island as a result of domestic violence. We write a story, and a day later, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence issues a statement.
And little changes.
This incident was no different.
We attempted to track the events of the deaths of a wife and a husband who appeared to live a middle-class life in Hopkinton. The purpose of the reporting is not click-bait; slideshows of puppies this is not.
It is an effort to look at the travels of a case and see where a number of things went wrong.
WARNING: This story has graphic elements.
The Francis family lived in a well-kept four-bedroom colonial in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. Facebook photos showed a loving family — mom, dad and a young boy and girl.
On Monday, May 20, the young girl called her grandmother, who lived over the state line in Connecticut, reporting that her father was beating her mother.
The grandmother called 911.
Police arrived at the Francis' home within minutes. Joseph Francis did not greet officers in a friendly fashion.
Six weeks later, Joseph murdered Stephanie. And then, after a high-speed chase across multiple towns, he killed himself.
What happened in between? What happened before?
This murder-suicide is not an isolated incident. Between 2016 and 2020, there were 26 domestic homicides in Rhode Island, according to the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
In a situation with all the warning signs, how did two children lose their parents?
Stephanie was from Flanders, New Jersey, and attended Mount Olive High School. Flanders is a small town in the southwestern part of the state — population 12,000 or so. Flanders is just a little bigger than Hopkinton — both rural towns with country living.
Joseph was from the area and had family in Westerly.
They bought their home in 2019 for $350,000. They bought it at just the right time, before COVID hit and home prices exploded. Today, the home is worth nearly $600,000.
Joseph was the self-proclaimed breadwinner. He owned a small business, Liberty Hearth & Home, a fireplace repair company. The couple had been together for 20 years and married for 15.
911 Call - Joseph Gets Arrested for Domestic and Gun Charges
Now, we move to the 911 call.
First, Stephanie and Joseph’s daughter called her grandmother, who lives in Connecticut, and told her that her father was beating her mother.
According to the Hopkinton Police report, “a female child in the home told her grandmother that her father was attacking her mother.”
“Caller [the grandmother] stated her daughter told her not to call the police and everything was fine,” according to the police report.
But nothing was fine.
As police arrive at about 9:30 PM on Monday, May 20, Joseph is standing in the driveway and Stephanie behind him.
Joseph told the Police, "We had a beef, but it's all good, okay?" He dismissed them. "You're in my driveway; You're trespassing."
When the police tried to tell him that there had been a call, he stormed away. He ended up in handcuffs.
Unbeknownst to police initially, the physical incident included him trying to rip papers out of her hands. He smashed her phone into three pieces. The papers were copies of the police reports that Stephanie had secured.
She had a welt on her head. Stephanie told the police she did not know how it had happened.
SEE VIDEO ABOVE
Other things were going on — he had an affair five years earlier, which led to a cyberstalking charge. That charge was never prosecuted, and the court record was later expunged.
Those papers Joseph was trying to tear away from Stephanie were tied to his cyberstalking.
Recently, retired Hopkinton police chief David Palmer tried to stop Joseph from buying a gun.
"I got the Second Amendment Coalition. What the hell is that guy's name that runs it...Frank Saccoccio. So I talked to him, he wrote a letter, he sent it to David [Palmer, the then-Police Chief]...they talked with the solicitor, and they were like, 'You're good,'" said Joseph, while handcuffed and sitting in the police cruiser.
Hopkinton Police Officer Samuel Kershaw responded to Joseph, "I like guns; I like when people have guns."
SEE VIDEO ABOVE
The marriage was disintegrating. Last August, Stephanie told Joseph that she wanted to end the marriage.
She had started to work. She was employed at a local restaurant and was cleaning homes to build up some cash for the divorce.
Francis was breaking away, and Joseph was losing control.
Hopkinton police sergeant Ryan Percival could be heard saying in the body camera footage that Joseph "was a real 2Aer."
In the garage of the family's basement/work area, hung on the wall was the flag of “Kekistan,” which represents a fictional country that has for several years been in the vernacular and culture of extremists and white supremacy groups as a symbol of hatred and racism.
Stephanie asked the police to remove the gun from the bedroom. She did not know where the other guns were in the home. When police removed the gun, they found multiple magazines — two for an AR weapon and a drum magazine. The drum magazine can hold 100 rounds and is illegal in Rhode Island.
The grandparent drove in from Connecticut and met with police.
Joseph was arrested. He was charged with:
Large Capacity Feeding Devices Prohibited - a felony
Domestic Violence - Simple Assault and/or Battery - 1st Offense - a misdemeanor
Domestic Violence - Vandalism - 1st Offense - a misdemeanor
Domestic Violence - Disorderly Conduct - 1st Offense - a misdemeanor
Along with the charges came an automatic "no contact order."
Court Date - Before Judge O'Neill - Hearing Took Less Than 4 Minutes
Joseph's first court hearing took place more than two weeks after his arrest, on June 5 before Judge Patrick O'Neill.
O'Neill served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives representing Pawtucket and served as a magistrate, before Governor Dan McKee named him to the District Court in June of 2023.
The bond was set at $5,000 in personal recognizance. The court transcript showed he paid nothing. The hearing took less than four minutes.
SEE KEY PORTIONS OF THE COURT TRANSCRIPT AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE BELOW
The conditions for bail were:
- Domestic No Contact Order
- Pretrial Services to Monitor
- Pretrial Services to Monitor for Alcohol
- Pretrial Services to Monitor for Mental Health
He was scheduled for a hearing in September.
But less than a month later, murder, chaos, and suicide would ensue.
The Rhode Island State Police report provides the children’s description of their father’s murder of their mother in July.
The names of juveniles are redacted.
"The juveniles stated that they were not injured. Due to the fact that the suspect’s whereabouts were still unknown, and the area was densely covered with woods, I placed the juveniles in my marked State Police Cruiser Number 30 and relocated them to 263 North Road where a Hopkinton Rescue was staged. At this time, I spoke with REDACTED Francis, the oldest of the three children. REDACTED stated that both he and his sister were having a sleepover for the evening with their neighbor and friend, REDACTED, when REDACTED observed his father, Joseph, arrive at the residence. REDACTED stated that his mother, identified as Stephanie Francis, DOB: REDACTED, of 171 Stubtown Road, Hopkinton, Rhode Island, and his father had a no-contact order and he recognized that his father should not have been at the residence. then explained that his father entered the residence, wielded a shotgun, responded to the second floor where Stephanie was located, and fired one shot, striking her center mass in the chest. REDACTED stated that he then observed his father leave the residence while REDACTED responded to Stephanie’s location in an attempt to, 'Revive my mom.'"
A further interview by RISP of the son “stated that his mother … and his father are currently in the middle of divorce proceedings and that his mother had a no contact order out against his father. [REDACTED] stated that his father showed up to their house and began a verbal argument with his mother. [REDACTED] stated that the argument escalated, and his father pinned his mother against the wall before taking a shotgun and shooting his mother in the chest area in the hallway of the second floor of their home. stated that his father then left but doesn't know if he went into the basement or exited the house.”
Joseph went on the run. Police chase hours later, he crashed.
Rhode Island State Police report stated:
Accident #24RIK3-216-AC: Vehicle #1 was traveling at a high-rate of speed North on Tefft Hill Road in the Town of Richmond. Vehicle #1 was being pursued by several police departments. Vehicle #1 failed to stop and traveled onto Dawley Park Road from Tefft Hill Road. Vehicle #1 then traveled through the intersection and North onto Nooseneck Hill Road. At a point approximately 100 Feet North of Tefft Hill Road, Vehicle #1 began to travel West, crossing both northbound lanes of travel, and striking the center median. Vehicle #1 then continued West, crossing both southbound lanes of travel and exited the roadway into the wood line. Vehicle #1 then rolled over several times, down the embankment, while striking several trees. Vehicle #1 came to rest on its roof approximately 50 feet from the roadway facing East. The State Police Swat team approached the vehicle, pronouncing Mr. Francis time of death at 1:25 PM. Members of the then Forensic Service Unite (FSU), Detective Carr and Detective Gaumaun arrived to process the scene. The medical Examiner then arrived. Exeter Auto arrived on scene and towed the vehicle to State Police Headquarters for further processing.
"Nothing further to be done," was the final line of the Rhode Island State Police report.
READ PORTIONS OF COURT TRANSCRIPT FROM JUNE 5, 2024
This story was first published 7/18/24 2:30 AM