This archive report was first published on 24 December 2019.
On December 9, 2019, a series of disturbing incidents unfolded in Des Moines, Iowa, involving Nicole Marie Poole Franklin, 42.
According to the authorities, Ms. Franklin was charged with attempted murder in a hit-and-run case involving a 12-year-old boy who was walking on the sidewalk of a Des Moines apartment complex just before 4 p.m. local time.
Witnesses reported that Ms. Franklin's Jeep Cherokee accelerated immediately before the crash, leaving the boy with minor injuries.
Later that day, at 4:45 p.m., Ms. Franklin yelled racial epithets at a Conoco convenience store clerk and a customer in West Des Moines, leading to a hate crime charge.
Then, just before 5 p.m., Ms. Franklin drove her vehicle into a 14-year-old girl who was walking on the sidewalk to a junior high school in the Des Moines suburb of Clive, causing the girl to sustain a concussion and bruises that required hospitalization.
Ms. Franklin was also charged with attempted murder in this case, and investigators reported that she made derogatory comments about Latinos during questioning.
