JACKSON, Mich. — A botched murder-for-hire plot, fueled by a desperate attempt to silence a witness, ended in the brutal stabbing death of a beloved young mother who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving a community shattered and a family forever scarred by a case that investigators described as one of the most evil they had ever encountered.
The life of 28-year-old Frances “Franny” Craig was extinguished on August 10, 2014, in what authorities initially called a scene of “overkill and blind rage.” Found in her bedroom between the bed and the wall, Craig had been stabbed 90 times. Her hands were bound with cable ties, indicating she had been restrained before her killer unleashed a ferocious attack.
The brutality of the crime scene shocked even the most seasoned detectives, and the initial investigation focused on those closest to her, particularly her fiancé, Eric Wolf.
Wolf, who had returned home from a 12-hour night shift that morning, told police he had fallen asleep downstairs and was only awakened by his young daughter, who had discovered Craig’s body. In his initial interview, Wolf’s demeanor raised red flags for investigators. He appeared detached, and his comments about the possibility of suicide due to wedding stress seemed wildly out of place given the horrific nature of the crime scene.
While his workplace security records placed him at his job until 6:30 a. m. , gaps in camera coverage left a window of opportunity that kept him as a primary person of interest.
As the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that Craig was a woman of immense warmth and vitality. Friends described her as a “firecracker” with an infectious laugh who made everyone feel like they had known her for years. A devoted mother to two young daughters, aged five and three, she was also working two jobs and planning her dream wedding, which was just a month away.
The outpouring of grief was immense, with even her mail carrier attending her funeral, a testament to the impact she had on everyone she met. The community was on edge, with the killer still at large and no clear motive in sight.
The case took a dramatic and unforeseen turn three months later when forensic evidence from the cable ties was finally processed. The DNA found on them did not match Eric Wolf or any other person previously questioned. Instead, it matched a convicted murderer named Cortez Butler, a 43-year-old man who was out on parole after serving 25 years for second-degree murder.
The connection seemed impossible; there was no known link between Butler and Craig. They lived in different areas, had no mutual friends, and had never worked together. This led investigators to consider a chilling possibility: that Craig was the victim of a hired hit.
Butler was already in custody on an unrelated murder charge when investigators approached him. In a stunning turn of events, he admitted to killing Craig but insisted that Eric Wolf had nothing to do with it. He revealed a twisted scheme orchestrated by a man named Rodney McKee.
The plot began months earlier when Rodney McKee, a known heroin dealer, was charged with arson for setting fire to an apartment building to get back at a woman named Donna. The fire left Donna and her son, Ryan, homeless. Ryan was a former roommate of Craig and Wolf, and he was a key witness against McKee in the arson case.
Facing trial, Rodney McKee contacted his uncle, Clifford McKee, a convicted murderer, to find and 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Ryan. Clifford, in turn, contacted his former prison associate, Cortez Butler, and offered him $10,000 for the hit. The only address they had for Ryan was the home he had shared with Craig and Wolf.
On the night of the murder, Butler entered the home through an unlocked garage door. He crept upstairs, pausing to note the children sleeping in their rooms, before entering the master bedroom. He bound Craig with cable ties, covered her eyes, and demanded to know where Ryan was.
When she said she didn’t know, he stabbed her repeatedly in the neck and continued his vicious attack.
Prosecutors described Craig as “the very definition of collateral damage,” an innocent victim of a callous plot to eliminate a witness. The trio, undeterred by their mistake, continued to stalk Ryan, but Butler was arrested before they could carry out another attack. In a subsequent trial, the evidence against the three men was overwhelming.
Phone records placed Clifford and Cortez together in the Jackson area at the time of the murder, with more than 200 contacts between them in the days surrounding the killing. Over 8,000 pages of phone records were analyzed to build the case.
During the trial, Butler was erratic, laughing and smiling at cameras and initially bragging about his crimes before denying any involvement in Craig’s murder when questioned directly. Despite his attempts to manipulate the proceedings, the jury found all three men guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and first-degree home invasion. The McKees were also found guilty of solicitation of murder.
The verdict brought a measure of justice, but the sentencing hearing was an emotional and harrowing event, punctuated by a powerful victim impact statement from Craig’s mother, Robin.
Robin addressed the court directly, speaking of the 360 days her family had been allowed with their daughter before it was cruelly taken away. She described the pain of waking up each morning knowing they would never hear her laugh or see her smile again. She detailed the heartbreaking task of explaining to her grandchildren that their mother was gone, and the horror of having to look at crime scene photos to understand the pain their daughter endured.
“This unholy trinity is as evil a group of individuals as I have seen,” the prosecutor stated, noting that the case involved a third murder for one man and a second for another. All three men were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The legal battles did not end with the sentencing. The men challenged their convictions, leading to appeals that reached the Michigan Supreme Court. In 2020, the court agreed to hear the appeals for Rodney and Clifford McKee, with arguments taking place in 2022.
As of now, there has been no public update on the outcome of these appeals. Cortez Butler’s appeal to the Supreme Court was denied outright. The case remains a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the devastating consequences of a criminal enterprise that valued a witness’s silence over an innocent woman’s life.
Frances Craig’s story is one of a bright future stolen by senseless violence. She was an amazing mother, daughter, sister, fiancée, and friend whose life was cut short by a chain of events she had no part in. Her memory lives on in her community, but the void left by her absence is a permanent and painful reminder of a night when evil came knocking on the wrong door.
The investigation, which spanned years and involved thousands of hours of work, ultimately brought her killers to justice, but it can never bring her back. Her family and friends are left to navigate a world without her, holding onto the memory of a woman who was loved by all who knew her.
