A woman in Cullman, Alabama has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of her two young sons. Sarah Tapia Franco, 37, strangled the boys and slit their throats, leading Cullman County Circuit Judge Martha Williams to hand down the severe punishment. The 3-year-old Alvaro Garcia and 9-year-old Taylor Garcia were the victims of this horrifying crime.
Franco, who was indicted by a grand jury in early 2020, recently pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder. While she was initially facing an additional count of capital murder, it was later dropped. Judge Williams ordered that Franco’s life sentences will run concurrently.
District Attorney Champ Crocker expressed his confidence that Franco will never be released, saying, “There is no amount of punishment that would be enough or harsh enough for Sarah Tapia Franco.” The sentencing serves as a guarantee that she will spend the rest of her days behind bars.
The gruesome incident occurred nearly five years ago in a rural area about 60 miles north of Birmingham. Deputies from the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a residence on County Road 1718. Upon their arrival, they encountered a grisly scene that left them deeply shaken.
Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry described the incident as something that law enforcement could never prepare for. He revealed that when deputies arrived, they established a perimeter and deployed a K-9 unit. The search guided them to an open field adjacent to the house, where they discovered Franco, the mother of the children, with multiple self-inflicted wounds. A knife was also found at the scene.
Franco was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit. The Cullman Tribune reported that she was placed under constant guard by deputies for the duration of her hospital stay. Eventually, she was transferred to a state mental health facility and remained there until July 2021. Following a competency hearing, she was moved to the Cullman County Detention Center.
Alongside her life sentence, Franco has been ordered to pay $20,000 to the Crime Victim’s Compensation Assessment, $10,584 in restitution, and $10,000 in court costs.
The details surrounding the incident and the harrowing discovery by law enforcement underscore the profound impact such acts of violence have on both individuals and society as a whole.