Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Authorities have charged the onetime boyfriend of 28-year-old pharmaceutical representative Nailah Franklin with her murder. 

Reginald Potts Jr., 31, is charged with first-degree murder, auto theft and robbery in the case, interim Police Superintendent Dana Starks said Saturday.

Chicago police say the cell phone records gave him away.  

"Today, a family is relieved. A community is at peace and a murderer is behind bars," Starks said.

Eight days after Franklin's family reported her missing, investigators found her naked and decomposed body in a wooded area behind a vacant business in Calumet City on Sept. 27, after a frantic search.

And now, investigators say they've compiled evidence that shows Potts' alibi in the case doesn't make sense. 

Potts had an alibi claiming that he was with people at a location police would not specify, but his cell phone activity placed him at locations that differed from his alibi.

"Based on witness statements, cell phone activity and other evidence, we have been able to determine that Potts' alibi is deeply flawed," said police Bureau of Investigative Service Deputy Supt. Hiram Grau. "Detectives were able to ping Potts' cell phone activity which placed him at locations that did not coincide with his alibi." 

The family of 28-year-old Nailah Franklin gathered to thank police for working to charge a suspect in her murder.

"We can never get her back, this doesn't bring her back, and we're on a long road. And this is just another step in that road," said Lehia Franklin Acox, Nailah's sister. "I've realized in these last two-and-a-half months that my sister is my best friend. Not having her here in the physical realm has been so painful. But I know that she's here in the spirit realm."

It's not Potts' first run in with the law. He was arrested in 2001 after he escaped from Chicago's Dirksen Federal Building and remained a fugitive for two weeks. He had also been accused of threatening a police officer in Highland Park, and numerous auto thefts, police said.

Potts briefly dated Franklin, and police say he has been arrested several times over the past three months for violating orders of protection. Police also say Potts has a history of 20 arrests in four counties, and eight convictions in the last decade. Among his charges have been threatening violence and committing violent acts against women, Franklin included. 

Police said Franklin and Potts had a heated e-mail exchange the week before she went missing. 

"She was in the process of obtaining an order of protection when she ended up missing," said Harrison Area Police Cmdr. Steve Peterson, who called the crime an example of domestic violence. "When it leads to this, it's tragic for everybody. At the onset they determined she also made a police report regarding telephone threats by Reginald Potts. As with many domestic violence victims, the detective called her and instructed her to get an order of her protection for her safety." 

At a news conference Saturday, police said Franklin had reported Potts threatened he would hurt her.

Saturday evening, CBS 2 talked to Potts' attorney via phone. He says his client "insists he's innocent." And that he believes the evidence against Potts is somewhat "circumstantial."

In interviews before being charged, Potts complained he felt he was being harassed by law enforcement.

"What would be the motive for me to do anything to her?" Potts told the Chicago Tribune last month in an interview the newspaper did not publish until Saturday. "It's an unfortunate situation, but it doesn't mean I should be run through the ringer. I had nothing to do with it."

But besides the cell phone records, witnesses contradicted Potts' story about where he was when Franklin vanished, police said Saturday.

"Mr. Potts tried to win sympathy, portraying himself as the real victim, but investigators were never swayed by his antics," said Grau.

Franklin was a pharmaceutical sales representative for Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly. She was reported missing on Sept. 19, after failing to show up for an important work meeting. 

For eight days family members and relatives plastered streets with posters and handed out fliers with Franklin's picture, but to no avail.

"We all love her and we are all praying for her safe return," Franklin's cousin, Lela Toney, said at the time, "and we are, as we everyone else is, waiting for news."

Finally, the discovery of a body made family members fear the worst. 

"This has been a long, tedious but decisive homicide investigation into the murder of Nailah Franklin." Starks said.

It took several days for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office to identify Franklin positively. Ultimately, they did so using dental records.

"She was just a really good girl, very positive energy," said her friend Amon Nickerson.

At Franklin's visitation and funeral services in early October, hundreds gathered to pay their respects, shaken by her violent death. Friends, colleagues and even strangers were among them.

"I felt like she was a sister even though I had only run into her a few times from the time that I met her, but hearing her story was very devastating," said one of the mourners, Carol Jones. 

The Cook County medical examiner's office has not released Franklin's cause of death, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

Potts is already serving a 100-day sentence in Cook County Jail for violating an order of protection. He is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing on Monday at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse. 

Potts' attorney says he plans to enter a "not guilty" plea in this latest case.

Franklin's family says they have little to say about the suspect, but want to focus on finding justice for Nailah and preserving her memory.

Franklin's company, Eli Lily, released a statement saying: "if the man accused is found to be guilty, the company hopes that brings some closure to Nailah's family. And that all they can hope for is justice for her."

CBS 2's Rafael Romo, Pamela Jones and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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