Kristy Sullivan knew Gertrude Franklin as much as most neighbors usually do.
She and her son would help the 81-year-old woman get her car unstuck from the snow in the winter, and do the typical things neighbors do for each other.
Franklin, who was found beaten and unconscious in her home in the 1000 block of Barnsdale Road Oct. 29, died early Nov. 12, at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
She was pronounced dead at 4:15 a.m., never having regained conscious after a brutal beating she received during a home invasion, according to La Grange Park police.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Franklin's death a homicide, caused by cranial cerebral injuries.
Her nephew, David Brown, 51, of Maywood is being held on $2 million bond for home invasion and attempted murder. Deputy Police Chief Philip Kubesztal said the Cook County state’s attorney’s office has been notified of Franklin’s death and expects charges to be upgraded to murder.
Brown also is being held without bond for a parole violation with the Illinois Department of Corrections, police said.
No weapon was recovered, leading police to suspect the beating was done with bare hands and feet.
Brown was attempting to flee from police following an attempted traffic stop for disobeying a traffic signal in the 1200 block of Kemman Avenue at 4:20 a.m. Oct. 29, police said. He crashed Franklin’s 2003 Buick Century into a tree at 28th Street and Ostrander Avenue, according to police.
An officer responding to the accident recognized the aunt’s vehicle from a past incident where another nephew took her car without permission, police said.
That prompted officers to check on the well-being of the woman, who was found unconscious on the floor with injuries to her head and face, according to police.
Brown and the man charged with stealing the car in the other incident are cousins, Kubesztal said.
Sullivan, whose home looks out at Franklin’s home across the driveway, was one of a handful of neighbors who came out late Oct. 29 to see Franklin being rushed to the hospital after being discovered by police. She said it was a surprise and a shock, given the neighborhood.
“It’s very surprising for the area we live in,” Sullivan said. “It’s sad, and we’re stunned at what people would stoop to.”
Sullivan added said she has always felt safe and secure with how the village responds to emergencies.
“It was such an isolated, extreme, unusual and unfortunate thing,” she said. “It doesn’t change how I feel about this neighborhood or the community.”
Police have not yet determined if anything was stolen from the home.
