The daughter and two grandchildren of a Madison County man have been charged with murder after he fell down a flight of stairs at his home and later died in the hospital.
Franklin Monaco, 77, of Colbert, was critically injured when he fell at his home Aug. 17, according to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Monaco died of his injuries a week later.
Monaco’s daughter, 53-year-old Cherie Monaco, and two of his grandchildren, Angel Jones, 31, and Joseph Johnson, 19, were arrested Monday on multiple charges, online jail records show. Each is charged with counts of murder, exploitation of an elderly person and burglary.
The investigation began when Madison sheriff’s deputies responded to the home just before 3:30 p.m., according to the report. The 911 dispatcher reported that screaming could be heard in the background of the call, which came from Monaco’s wife, Rosaline Monaco.
She told the dispatcher that her husband had been pushed down the stairs, the incident report said. The deputies found Franklin Monaco unresponsive and tried to render first aid before he was taken to the hospital.
During the initial response, Cherie Monaco’s husband showed up at the house and told deputies that his wife said Franklin Monaco had gone “berserk” and assaulted Jones during an argument, the incident report said.
Johnson told police the argument began when Rosaline Monaco had stopped her daughter’s mail from being delivered to the home, according to the incident report. Cherie Monaco had checked with the post office and confirmed that her mail was no longer being delivered to her parents’ house and came there to confront her mother. Johnson told police the argument led Franklin Monaco to attack his granddaughter, Angel Jones.
Cherie Monaco, Jones and Johnson remain in the Madison County Jail without bond, according to records.
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