After a man was discovered dead in his car at a neighboring cemetery with a knife still in his throat, a Harrisburg resident was charged on Tuesday for stabbing him outside a Swatara Township business hours last week.
According to court documents, Frankelin Franco-Colome, 29, was charged by Swatara Township police with one count of homicide in relation to the death of Jorge Morales, 61, on January 27. Due to the seriousness of the accusations, he was not granted bond and is currently being held at Dauphin County Prison.
According to police, surveillance footage last week showed Morales and an unidentified male arrive in his car at a company located at 2771 Paxton Street at approximately 10 p.m. on January 27.
Colome was seen stabbing Morales in the parking lot while wearing a ski mask, gloves, and an all-black outfit on footage taken from the Paxton Street establishment. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Colome then returned Morales to his vehicle and drove off. A sizable pool of blood was later discovered in the parking lot, according to the police.
According to court filings, Morales was discovered dead on the passenger side of his vehicle at Paxtang Cemetery, located on the 400 block of North Paxtang Avenue, at approximately 9:43 a.m. by police looking into an abandoned vehicle complaint. Two days later, an autopsy determined that his death was a homicide.
Morales’ body was cold to the touch, and his automobile had blood on the outside. According to the affidavit, he still had a knife blade in his throat and had blood all over his face and clothes. The knife’s handle was later discovered, according to the police, in a creek close to Derry Street and Park Terrace in Paxtang.
According to the complaint, investigators also discovered Morales’ blood-soaked steering wheel cover in a trash bin at Mama’s Pizza, located in the 3400 block of Derry Street. According to court filings, security footage of Morales’ vehicle prior to the stabbing showed the steering wheel cover.
According to police, they tracked Franco-Colome’s route to his flat in Harrisburg’s Bellevue Towers on Market Street on the evening of January 27 using video footage. According to court documents, Franco-Colome showed up to the apartment complex that evening with what seemed to be blood on his hands.
Police claimed they discovered court documents bearing Franco-Colome’s name and an ID badge bearing his name while carrying out a search warrant at Bellevue Towers on Monday.
According to court filings, detectives also discovered images of Franco-Colome’s tattoos, which matched those on the man in surveillance footage taken following the stabbing.
Shortly after the stabbing, on Monday, January 27, between 10 and 11 p.m., surveillance cameras captured the suspect strolling around the intersection of Paxtang Avenue and Derry Street, according to police. Last week, police asked for the public’s assistance in identifying him by releasing a screenshot of the CCTV film.
Colome was arraigned Tuesday morning, according to online court records. Magisterial District Judge Michael Smith is to hear a preliminary hearing on February 19.
Stories by
Jenna Wise