A custody dispute in Baton Rouge has ended in a killing that prosecutors say was not spontaneous, but planned — driven by fear, anger, and mounting legal pressure.
Authorities in East Baton Rouge Parish have charged 32-year-old Hope Jackson with principal to second-degree murder in the death of Anthony Wesley Jr., the father of her children. Investigators allege Jackson pushed her boyfriend, 32-year-old Riddick Franklin, to carry out the fatal shooting after Wesley sought custody and child support through the courts.
Wesley was found dead in the early morning hours of March 22 outside Jefferson Lakes Apartments, a complex along Jefferson Highway. Deputies responding to the scene discovered his body on a sidewalk, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. Surveillance footage later revealed a chilling sequence: Wesley had just arrived home when he was shot from behind. The gunman then approached and fired additional rounds while standing over him.
Detectives quickly focused on a white Dodge Ram seen leaving the area moments after the shooting. Using license plate data, investigators traced the truck to Franklin, who was later stopped and detained. A search of his vehicle and home turned up a handgun, clothing matching the suspect seen in surveillance footage, and his cellphone.
During questioning, Franklin admitted to the killing. He told investigators he initially went to Wesley’s apartment to “squash the beef” and “cease fire,” but said the encounter escalated. He claimed he was “tired of being disrespected” before pulling out a gun and firing multiple times. Afterward, he returned home, disassembled the weapon, and washed his clothes in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.
But as detectives dug deeper, they uncovered what they say is a broader conspiracy — one tied to an ongoing custody battle.
Court records show Wesley had recently filed a petition seeking custody, visitation, and child support, with a hearing looming. According to investigators, that legal pressure became the catalyst for violence.
Franklin told detectives that Jackson was deeply upset about the case and feared losing custody of her children. He alleged she repeatedly urged him to act, using coded language that investigators say left little ambiguity. In one message recovered from his phone, Jackson allegedly wrote, “I want him OV,” which authorities interpret as a directive to eliminate Wesley. Other messages suggested urgency, with Jackson warning she could “lose everything” if Wesley was not “taken care of.”
Investigators say Franklin described “increased pressure” from Jackson in the days leading up to the shooting. He also recounted a statement she allegedly made shortly before the killing: “I ain’t gone tell on you, you ain’t gone tell on me so we straight.”
Phone records show the two were in frequent contact in the hours surrounding the shooting, exchanging calls and messages both before and after the gunfire.
Authorities believe Franklin waited in the apartment complex parking lot for hours, lying in wait until Wesley returned home. What followed, investigators say, was not an argument gone wrong, but a calculated ambush.
Both Jackson and Franklin are being held without bond. They are expected to appear in court in April as prosecutors move forward with a case built on surveillance footage, digital evidence, and a confession that may tie a custody battle directly to a deadly act of violence.
