Mother Of Three, Frances Worthington, Was Found Violently Murdered. There Wasn't Enough Evidence To Send The Suspect To Trial.

Frances McNeil Worthington

She was born on October 12th, 1918. She was a mother of three.

On January 1st, 1996, 76-year-old Frances lived at 2022 Price Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee. She didn't leave the house much. Her son Michael went to check on her after she failed to answer her phone. When he arrived, he found items scattered all over the house. Flour and sugar had been thrown around. In the hallway of her small home there was blood splattered on the walls and soaking into the carpet outside France's bedroom where her battered body lay.

Frances' murderer had struck her once across the body, and then the second time on the back and the third time she must have rolled over. The killer then violated the victim with a wine bottle. He left her nightgown bunched up around her neck. Someone had sprinkled coins and miniature chocolates around the body.

Days after the incident, 18-year-old  Ricky Wayne Womack Jr.  was arrested and charged with her homicide. Womach had been known to do some burglaries in the area and he was known to the investigators and the patrol officers at the time as well.

When talking to police, Womack said he'd been in the house and had helped in the break-in. But he blamed the killing on someone he identified as "Donnie". Police said that Donnie couldn't have participated in the crime, because he was in custody on some other matter.

The case was sent to the grand jury for a possible indictment of Womack for Frances' murder. Womack's lawyers had argued the prosecution had no physical evidence. They insisted police had confused him into admitting he'd been in Worthington's home when he'd actually broken into another South Knoxville residence.

In August 1996, however, a grand jury decided not to indict Womack. 

No one had ever been brought to justice for Frances' murder.

That wasn't the only loss that that Frances' family suffered. Her son Michael couldn't deal with the loss of his mother and he committed suicide in 2005.

If you have any information on this case, contact the KPD Violent Crimes Unit at 865-215-7317. Callers can remain anonymous.