Michael Lee Franklin Jr., 33, of Tempe, has been arrested in connection with the killing of 64-year-old Bonnie Raudman.
On Sept. 30, Tempe police responded to the 2700 block of W. Minton Drive where a Raudman had been found dead in her home by a family friend. The cause of death was identified as blunt and sharp force injuries of the neck, and was determined to be a homicide.
Raudman's car, a 2010 blue/grey Hyundai Elantra, was missing from the garage. That vehicle was later recovered by detectives approximately one mile away from the victim's home.
According to a news release, several items were removed from the home during the incident which included two replica pistols and display plaques. Those items were located in a dumpster not far from the victim's home, police said.
Detectives and identification technicians processed the recovered property and found latent fingerprints that were a match to Michael Lee Franklin, according to the release. Detectives served a search warrant on Franklin's home Wednesday during which Franklin was taken into custody without incident.
During a post arrest interview, Franklin admitted to several aspects of the crime including being in the home, taking the victim to an ATM to withdraw money, and removing property from the home, police said. Franklin denied hurting Raudman while he was in the home.
Franklin was booked into Tempe City Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and first-degree burglary.
