A Deltona woman who works as an Orange County firefighter was accused of throwing tampons she painted red in her boyfriend’s yard, Volusia Sheriff’s deputies said Oct. 3.
Gabrielle Franze, 28, whom Volusia deputies said was unhappy because her ex-boyfriend had a new girlfriend, dumped 75 tampons in his yard at 10:08 p.m. Sept. 29, according to an arrest report.
Franze was charged with two counts of misdemeanor stalking. A judge released her from the Volusia County Branch Jail on her own recognizance, court records showed Friday, Oct. 3.
Deputies said the new girlfriend contacted them on Oct. 2 regarding the incident.
When deputies viewed the home’s video surveillance, they saw a truck that looked like Franze’s, with people throwing the tampons in the yard. The couple told deputies they suspected Franze because of social media posts and people telling them that Franze was not happy they were together, the report states.
The new girlfriend told deputies she wanted to press charges. The ex-boyfriend, who was at work when deputies were investigating, said he also wanted to file charges, deputies said.
Firefighters targeted in tampon attack
Social media posts show that both victims are firefighters, with Franze’s ex-boyfriend serving as a lieutenant. They work in different counties.
The female victim posted on Facebook that Franze, along with her mother and aunt, drove past the house where she lives with male and “threw 100+ tampons with suspected blood on them into our yard and driveway.”
“What they didn’t know is our cameras caught every second of it,” the post continued. “Firefighters are supposed to stand for honor and integrity — yet she chose to do something like this, and was arrested for stalking. That’s how you ruin a badge and a reputation.”
Mother and aunt planned tampon attack
When deputies contacted Franze, she initially said she didn’t know where her ex-boyfriend lived. But deputies confronted her with surveillance video recordings of her truck seen at the home. They even told her that license plate readers caught the truck at a nearby intersection headed in the direction of the home two minutes before the tampons were dumped in the yard.
Franze changed her story, deputies wrote in the report.
Franze told deputies that her mother and aunt visiting from out of state hatched the plan to dump tampons in her ex-boyfriend’s yard, the arrest report said.
Franze said they purchased the tampons and painted them red. They loaded the feminine hygiene products in the truck and she drove to the home where they threw them on the lawn, the arrest report stated.
Franze maintained she didn’t do anything and that it was not her idea, deputies said.
Franze is the victim’s ex-girlfriend and used to live with him, so deputies told her it was irrelevant whether or not the tampon attack was her idea, the report states.
“Given the fact this plan was thought up, tampons were purchased, painted red to make them look used, loaded in the vehicle and thrown into the yard, demonstrates a course of conduct which evidences a continuity of purpose with the sole purpose to harass (victims) and serves no legitimate purpose,” deputies concluded in their report.
The News-Journal tried to contact Franze, but her voicemail box is full and unable to accept messages.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Orange County firefighter, Deltona resident accused of throwing tampons in ex’s yard
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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