A woman who lied to investigators about the fatal shooting of 6-year-old Ka’Marion Dolch at a Plain Township motel, where the boy’s father is now serving a five-year prison sentence, has been sentenced to two years of probation.
Brittany A. Franko, 30, pleaded guilty to obstructing official business and was sentenced Wednesday by Stark County Common Pleas Judge Natalie R. Haupt.
Franko was present in the room at the Knights Inn on June 21 when the shooting occurred. During a 911 call, she claimed she did not know where the gunshot originated and failed to inform authorities that the boy’s father, William B. Dolch, was also in the room.
Investigators later determined that William Dolch, 37, accidentally fired the gun while trying to move it from a nightstand, resulting in his son’s death. He was convicted of negligent homicide and other charges and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
Franko, who lived at the motel at the time, delayed the investigation by providing false information to dispatchers and deputies, according to authorities. Her actions hindered the initial response to the tragic incident, which occurred at the Belden Village-area motel.
