The Daily News

FRANKLINTON - Detectives released more information about a double-murder that took place in February, and say they still need more witnesses to come forward in another double-murder that happened in March.

Franklinton's two double-murders of 2008 are still being actively investigated, and the Franklinton Police Department has not slowed down in attempting to solve the separate cases, said Detective Justin Brown.

FILE PHOTOS Two people were shot and killed during an Easter celebration near this Franklinton intersection in March. Police have made arrests in the case, but not for murder. Advertisement

In the first case, Franklinton resident Anita Smith, 46, and her nephew William Lewis, 32, were discovered shot to death on the morning of Feb. 6 at Smith's home on 14th Avenue in East Acres Subdivision, an otherwise quiet neighborhood near central Franklinton.

No suspects have been named or arrested in the case, and police have had to work with a limited amount of evidence in the investigation.

There are believed to be no witnesses to the shooting and neighbors have told The Daily News they saw nothing suspicious, although some did mention hearing a possible gunshot or similar noise on the morning of the murders.

This week, Brown said "trace evidence" collected from the crime scene is being sent to a private lab for analysis.

He did not say what the evidence was. Detectives are also continuing to look into the background of the victims and those they knew, Brown said. Work on the case is being performed every day, he added.

Franklinton's other double-murder of 2008, which occurred on Easter Sunday, March 23, has nearly polar-opposite circumstances as the first double-homicide of the year.

In that case, two rival gangs - Iced Out and Black Rag - were involved in a fistfight that escalated into gunfire amidst a crowded community celebration at the corner of

Katelyn and Williams streets.

The shooting, involving an unknown number of guns and shooters, resulted in the deaths of Ricardo Fox, 24, and 13-year-old De'Lijawon Magee. Three other people were also shot, yet survived.

Unlike the first double-homicide, there were plenty of witnesses, perhaps dozens, however, many have been unwilling to share with police what they saw.

Brown said police are still asking those witnesses to come forward so the case can be solved.

Two Franklinton residents were arrested in the case - Ernest Bright, for attempted second-degree murder, and Rashied "Pokey" Washington, for principal to attempted second-degree murder. However, their charges stem from shooting the victims who survived. No arrests have been made for the murders.