Kensington woman charged with murder in the beating death of her 7-year-old son
Natasha Franks is charged with murder in the death of her son, Tazmir Ransom.
A 26-year-old Kensington woman has been charged with murder in the fatal beating of her 7-year-old son, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday.
Natasha Franks, of the 2000 block of Clarence Street, was arrested Monday, a day after her son, Tazmir Ransom, had difficulty breathing and was taken by medics to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, police said.
Medical staff determined that the boy was suffering from severe injuries, from which he died Wednesday, police said that day in announcing the mother’s arrest.
Franks initially was charged with attempted murder, endangering the welfare of a child, unsworn falsification to authorities, and related offenses. Krasner said Friday that the DA’s Office has upgraded the attempted-murder charge to murder.
Franks is being held without bail at the Riverside Correctional Facility in Northeast Philadelphia. A spokesperson for the Defender Association of Philadelphia declined to comment on her case Friday.
“These are times when we have real concerns about domestic violence, and about what happens when people are sequestered in the home and under all kinds of stress,” Krasner said during an online news conference.
He encouraged anyone who suspects child abuse to contact the state’s ChildLine hotline at 1-800-932-0313.