A Winnebago County jury convicted a Neenah man of first-degree intentional homicide May 20 after three days of trial and under two hours of deliberation, according to court records.
The jury convicted Rodney Franklin, 54, of first-degree intentional homicide and theft of movable property from a corpse in the death of 73-year-old Keith Rieskamp.
Rieskamp was found dead Nov. 24, 2024 outside of an apartment building on the 200 block of East Doty Avenue in Neenah. Police were dispatched to the area around 8:40 a.m. that morning after someone requested a welfare check on Rieskamp.
When Rieskamp was found, he was covered in blood, partially undressed and had “massive trauma” to his face, according to a criminal complaint. An autopsy determined Rieskamp died from multiple blunt force injuries and hypothermia.
Rieskamp’s death was investigated for six months before Franklin was charged with his homicide.
Franklin was living at the apartment building Rieskamp was found outside of at the time of the crime, according to the complaint. The day Rieskamp was discovered dead, an investigator knocked on Franklin’s door. Franklin told the officer he had not seen or heard anything the night before or that morning, the complaint said.
Franklin told police he didn’t know Rieskamp, the complaint said. Two people told police Franklin knew Rieskamp, including a man who said he’d visited Franklin’s apartment several times with Rieskamp.
Near where Rieskamp was located, investigators found blood on the handle of a shed, on the back of a garage, on a shirt and jacket, and a significant amount of blood was found on a silver aluminum post and a brick, the complaint said.
Police executed a search warrant at the apartment and found a pair of shoes that appeared to have partially wiped-off blood stains, as well as numerous items known to have belonged to Rieskamp — including a blood-covered watch and bracelet, the complaint said.
A later search of the apartment also found possible evidence of blood on the floor where the shoes had been, around a bathtub, on two necklaces on the bathroom counter, and on a section of a walking cane located in a closet, the complaint said.
DNA analysis by the Wisconsin Department of Justice found the brick contained two people’s DNA with “very strong support” that the DNA belonged to Rieskamp and Franklin, the complaint said. Swabs taken from the blood stains on the shoes were consistent with Rieskamp’s DNA profile.
A trial in the case began May 18. The jury was sent to deliberate around 2:15 p.m. May 20 and returned 1½ hours later with a guilty verdict on both counts, court records show.
Franklin is scheduled to be sentenced July 15. He faces a mandatory life sentence for the homicide conviction, though the judge will have discretion as to whether he will be granted the possibility of parole.
Vivian Barrett is the public safety reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach her at vmbarrett@usatodayco.com or (920) 431-8314.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Jury convicts Neenah man of intentionally killing 73-year-old man in 2024
Reporting by Vivian Barrett, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Appleton Post-Crescent
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