The Oscar-winning movie Manchester by the Sea, starring Casey Affleck, seems to have inspired a New York couple’s plan to murder their son, the Associated Press reports.
In the film, Affleck plays a father who—spoiler alert—accidentally kills his children in a fire. The couple behind the real-life crime, Ernest and Heather Franklin, have been charged for murdering their 16-year-old son and trying to cover it up with a house fire.
The crime was apparently committed on Feb. 28 only a couple of hours after the two had seen Manchester by the Sea, district attorney Joseph McBride divulged. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
The couple’s adoptive son Jeffrey Franklin had both mental and physical disabilities, officials said. An autopsy found that Jeffrey was dead prior to the fire’s start, but the original cause of death was not found due to the body’s severe burns.
I can’t be the only one who’s absolutely frightened and disgusted by this.
The charges against the Franklins include second-degree murder, arson and tampering with evidence.