MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two men have been arraigned on charges in the February 2024 murder of an Orange Mound grandmother and the attempted murder of the others who were with her, including her daughter and three young children.
Court records show Jamario Franklin and David Cunningham were indicted May 16, 2024, on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault – acting in concert, and employment of a firearm during a felony. They were arraigned on May 29.
According to the indictment, Franklin and Cunninghman are charged in the Feb. 4, 2024, murder of Paula Appleberry, who was gunned down in Orange Mound with her daughter and grandchildren in the car. Memphis Police said her two-year-old grandson was also shot and her 25-year-old daughter was injured when the car crashed. Investigators said an 8-year-old boy and 7-month-old girl who had also been inside the car were uninjured.
Franklin had also been charged with evading arrest and unlawful possession of a weapon from his re-arrest, but those were dismissed on May 23, according to court records. He had also previously faced a long list of charges in a series of crimes which took place around the same time as that murder, but most of those were dismissed in court. The Shelby County D.A.'s Office said those charges could still be presented to a grand jury.
Franklin was re-arrested after a warrant was issued following the latest indictment. He is currently being held in the Shelby County Jail without bond in the murder case.
Separate charges of robbery and assault in an armored truck robbery on March 14, and an auto burglary in December 2023 were dismissed against Cunningham due to "lack of prosecution" on June 28, 2024, according to court records. He is being held without bond in the murder case.
