Wright gets life in Ga.; Aiken charges pending

Franklin Wright Submitted photo.

Franklin Wright's guilty plea Friday in Augusta led to a sentence of life in prison for the brutal beating of a store clerk but will still face murder and arson charges in Aiken County.

He will remain incarcerated in Augusta until his trial for charges tied to the Aug. 11 murders of 75-year-old Yana Schenker and 38-year-old Shalamar Byrd.

Second Judicial Circuit Solicitor J. Strom Thurmond Jr. said Friday evening that, after consulting with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, it was decided that Wright will be extradited from Georgia to Aiken County to face the murder charges for Schenker and Byrd, but extradition will take place when the Solicitor's Office is ready for trial.

"Because Wright is now serving a life sentence in Georgia, extradition will take place when we are ready to try him. This allows us to avoid burdening our local detention center in the interim," Thurmond said.

The murders occurred two weeks before the beating in Augusta; however, because Wright was arrested in Georgia for assaulting and kidnapping 54-year-old Jennie Hope, he must first face his accusers in Richmond County.

Thurmond said at the time of the arrest, "There's an old saying in the legal business that possession is nine-tenths of the law."

Once the Beech Island native is extradited across state lines, he will face allegations that he killed the two women and then set fires to cover up their murders.

Schenker's body was found burned in her Paddocks Bend home about an hour before the charred remains of Byrd were located in a wooded area off Storm Branch Road.

Schenker's body was found between 8:30 and 9 p.m. when a fire at the large, two-story home was reported by an alarm company.

When Aiken firefighters entered Schenker's home, they found light smoke and smelled gasoline. Crews extinguished the blaze and found the body lying on the floor of a room above the garage. The fire was set in the same room the body was found, said Capt. Troy Elwell, a spokesperson for the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

The second body was found by a Storm Branch Road property owner in Clearwater who called the sheriff's office when he saw his undeveloped land near the intersection of Old Storm Branch Road and Storm Branch Road was burning.

It took the Aiken County Sheriff's Office weeks to identify Byrd's remains. A combination of factors made identifying her a complicated task, including the condition of her body and factors surrounding her criminal background. She was convicted of crimes in Georgia twice, having been sentenced to two years in 2004 for burglary and two years in 2005 for theft by taking.

Investigators have not said what type of accelerant was used to set the woman's body on fire.

When Byrd's brother saw a sketch of the unidentified woman, he contacted local officials, who, in turn, obtained a DNA sample from the victim's mother. The DNA swab was matched with fluids obtained during Byrd's autopsy.

Wright has served time in prison for multiple crimes including assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, buggery, rape, attempted escape, multiple assaults and armed robbery charges.

His arrest record in South Carolina dates back to 1973.

He has spent more than 30 of his 55 years in the S.C. state prison system for rape, armed robberies, burglaries and assaults.

Contact Anna Dolianitis at adolianitis@aikenstandard.com.