University Village woman's  body found

By Susan S. Stevens

Only her teeth could be used to positively identify the remains of a University Village woman with a beautiful smile and personality to match. The body of Nailah Franklin, a 28-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative, was identified Sept. 28 by her dental records. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office did not determine a cause of death in an autopsy and was following up with lab tests, which could take several weeks.

Monique Bond, Chicago Police  spokeswoman, called the case a death investigation, not a homicide investigation, because the cause of Franklin’s death was uncertain. Calumet City police found Franklin’s body Sept. 26 in a patch of woods.

During a widespread search by police and civilians, Franklin’s  friends and family offered a $10,000 reward for information. Her five sisters and one brother, her boyfriend, and numerous other friends and relatives also distributed 10,000 fliers with her photo.

They also prayed. Vigils stretched  from near her condominium in the 1500 block of south Sangamon St. to her church on the Far South Side. Franklin’s last contact with anyone who has come forward was a text message she sent her boyfriend in Milwaukee at 8:15 p.m. Sept. 18. In the message, she told him she was at dinner and would phone him later. She never did. The next day, she failed to show up for work at Eli Lilly & Co.

Police said two computers were  missing from her condo. Her company-leased car also was missing until Sept. 21, when it was found in Hammond, IN. Some of her belongings were in the car, police said.

Concern about Franklin was intense because she was seldom out of touch with friends and family and she had filed a police report the previous week about telephone threats from a man she formerly dated. She did not request an order of protection. However, another woman who had dated the man had filed for an order the day Franklin disappeared.