Woman who killed fiance on wedding day wants new trial

Na Cola Franklin, an eastern Pennsylvania woman convicted of stabbing her fiancé to death on their wedding day, is seeking a new trial, reports The Morning Call.

A judge heard arguments for and against a new trial Tuesday and will rule on the request next month, reports the paper. Her attorney, John J. Waldron,  reportedly said the evidence pointed towards third-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter rather than first-degree murder, of which she was convicted.

Waldron said Franklin had a series of bad days leading up to the confrontation and snapped, reports the paper.

“We did not dispute that Na Cola committed this offense," Waldron reportedly said during the hearing. He called her first-degree murder conviction "a shock to the conscience."

In July of 2013, Franklin was sentenced to life in prison for killing her fiancé Billy Brewster during an argument in the early morning hours of Aug. 11, 2012, less than eight hours before their scheduled 10 a.m. wedding.

Brewster had reportedly come home drunk from a bachelor party. Taking the stand at her trial, Franklin said she grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him when he beat her and tried to take their infant son.  Several witnesses to the slaying, however, reportedly said Franklin was the aggressor.

Brewster, 36, was stabbed in the chest and abdomen.

Franklin, 32, said “I do still love him” of Brewster as she was sentenced.

First Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa said the jury applied the law to the facts as they handed down a first-degree murder conviction, reports the paper.

"There was no doubt she was having a bad day," Luksa reportedly said. "But nobody kills somebody on their wedding night because they had a bad day."