Margaret “Frankie” Kellis
Snapped: Women Who Murder
When Dallas Leon Kellis is found shot to death in his North Carolina home, his elderly widow Frankie Kellis reports a mysterious break-in and robbery. Investigators quickly uncover inconsistencies
Key takeaways
- Frankie Kellis called 911 on July 20, 2016, reporting her husband Dallas Leon Kellis found shot in bed with his wallet and watch missing.
- Police discovered no signs of forced entry and later located the supposedly stolen wallet and watch hidden in Frankie's dresser drawer.
Main topics
- Homicide investigation & alibi verification
- Financial fraud & check forgery
Notable quotes
"I might appear to be strong, but inside right now I'm dying."
Conclusion
The episode demonstrates how behavioral inconsistencies, financial tracking, and family
Transcript preview
Speaker 3 (0:03) A beloved husband enjoying his golden years is found gunned down in his home. Speaker 1 (0:09) Oh, God. Hey, there's blood on my face. Speaker 4 (0:14) His watch and wallet were missing. We felt that robbery could have been a motive. Speaker 3 (0:20) His elderly widow suspects a mystery man she saw lurking in the neighborhood. Speaker 7 (0:26) She did tell us about a suspicious person that she saw. Speaker 1 (0:30) He looked at me and he said, I'm very much in love with you. I'm in love with you. Speaker 2 (0:36) Could he have showed up and done this homicide while she was out? Speaker 3 (0:41) But when shocking secrets surface, investigators find themselves chasing an unlikely culprit and a master manipulator with a deadly past. She Speaker 7 (0:52) went by different aliases. She had different social security numbers. Speaker 5 (0:56) She didn't want any of us to tell her secrets, to be exposed. Speaker 2 (1:03) When you dig into all the facts and all the details, you start to see them just a monster. In a matter of a second, she would be the devil himself. Speaker 3 (1:27) July 20th, 2016. At approximately 7.20 a.m., North Carolina police receive a frantic call from an Aberdeen resident named Frankie Kellis. Speaker 1 (1:40) Moore County 911. I think my husband's dead. Speaker 1 (1:46) How old is he? Seven is he. Oh, God. Speaker 7 (1:54) On the 911 call, she did seem out of breath, kind of like frantic. So that's when everyone started responding to the residents. Speaker 6 (2:02) The dispatcher instructs Frankie to try to attempt CPR on her husband, but Frankie tells the dispatcher she's 80 years old, has limited mobility. Speaker 1 (2:16) I'm not able. I'm disabled. I can't lift him. Okay, are you able to grab his feet and pull him towards you? Speaker 1 (2:28) Honey, I can't do it. I can't. And his knife. Speaker 3 (2:40) Unfortunately, by the time first responders arrive, it's too late to save her husband Dallas. Speaker 7 (2:48) It was obvious that he was not here anymore. He was deceased. Speaker 2 (2:53) When EMS began trying to render aid, they realized there was blood on the pillow. So they started looking for the source of the blood and they noticed an injury on the back of his head that they thought might be a gunshot wound. Speaker 6 (3:06) They were kind of taken aback by this because Frankie didn't mention in the 911 call that he had been shot. Speaker 2 (3:14) Initially, it's just a medical call. Then it becomes, we've got to lock this scene down. Now we've got a big investigation on our hands. Crime scene tape goes up. We isolate witnesses and then we bring investigators in. Speaker 2 (3:31) He had a small caliber wound to the lower back portion of his neck and the same thing to the back of his head. It was Speaker 4 (3:39) evident that his injury was not self-inflicted. No gun was visible close by. Speaker 8 (3:46) The Speaker 4 (3:46) police Speaker 8 (3:47) contacted my dad, and dad let me know that Uncle Dallas had been killed. Uncle Dallas was a friendly guy, do anything for anybody that he could. It's one of those situations that you wonder how that could happen. Speaker 3 (4:07) Dallas Leon Kellis was born in rural North Carolina near the end of the Great Depression. Speaker 8 (4:14) My Uncle Dallas was raised by my grandmother. My grandfather was killed in an automobile accident, and I think it was 1940. So times are tough, and Uncle Dallas was the baby. He was the youngest of seven, and they definitely learned at an early age what work was about. He graduated from a high school in West End, North Carolina. And after that, it was the United States Army. Speaker 6 (4:49) After serving in the military, Dallas returned to Aberdeen and took a job as a machinist at a local textile mill. Speaker 3 (4:56) In 1968, he married the love of his life, Speaker 8 (5:00) Louise Cole. My Aunt Louise, she was a little older than my Uncle Dallas and had a couple of daughters from a previous marriage. Uncle Dallas, he was almost, say, a dapper Dan, a sharp-dressed man, always everything altered, whole nine yards, and they were happy together. They did well for themselves and built a nice house outside of Aberdeen. Church was the big thing. They enjoyed going to church and enjoyed doing things with the church. So that was their primary focus. Uncle Dallas, he enjoyed working out in the yard. They were good people and worked hard. Speaker 3 (5:50) Dallas and Louise enjoyed 41 years together until she passed away in June 2009. Speaker 8 (5:59) pretty much age and life just kind of caught up with her. Speaker 3 (6:04) Dallas was heartbroken, but after a year of mourning, he opened up to the possibility of finding love again. Speaker 8 (6:12) It gave the church ladies hope because he was considered to be a little bit of a catch. He had that little Burt Reynolds laugh that you'd get out of him every once in a while, but he had a laugh that was infectious. Speaker 8 (6:27) He was always one that was approachable and one that was there for you and you knew that it was. Speaker 3 (6:38) In 2010, someone captured his heart, but it wasn't one of the ladies from church. It was a woman from his past who was also recently widowed after the passing of her third husband. Speaker 6 (6:52) Much to everyone's surprise, Dallas reconnects with an ex-girlfriend from his 20s named Margaret Frances Bright, better known to her loved ones as Frankie. Speaker 5 (7:03) My grandmother grew up in a little town called Elizabethtown, North Carolina. She is the youngest of all of her siblings. The baby out of, I believe, at least six. I didn't get to meet my great-grandparents, but I was told that they, like, coddled her, and she always got her way. My grandmother met Dallas in her 20s or before then. And so they had, you know, a past relationship from what I was told. And after my granddaddy Jr. passed away and she moved back to North Carolina, my grandmother and Dallas rekindled their relationship in their 70s. Speaker 3 (7:50) Although 50 years had passed, Dallas and Frankie quickly fell back in love. They were married the following year in February 2011. Speaker 3 (8:01) They didn't date very long before they got married. Speaker 5 (8:04) Because it's like, you're older, it's like, why wait? You never know when, you know, it's going to be your last day. My grandmother and Dallas, they spent their time working out in the yard, watching TV like Wheel of Fortune. You know, the old shows like Matlock. You know, the normal things that older couples do together. Speaker 3 (8:31) The reunited couple were enjoying their golden years together. But now, a bullet has shattered their second chance at love. Speaker 7 (8:41) We're trying to establish a motive. Why would someone want to kill Dallas? It is important to rule out the spouse. That way we can focus our efforts on different people or suspects. Speaker 3 (8:52) When investigators sit down with Frankie to find out what happened, she is understandably distraught. Speaker 1 (9:00) I might appear to be strong, but inside right now I'm dying. I've always had to hold up for everybody else. Speaker 1 (9:09) I lost a son the 29th of November. I raised him. He was my grandson. I lost a daughter last year. Speaker 4 (9:17) We've had some rough time. I'm sorry Speaker 3 (9:24) Frankie says she and Dallas were supposed to attend the funeral of a family member that day, so she woke up around 5 a.m. to get ready. Speaker 1 (9:34) I came in here, I turned that copper pot on so I could fix me a cup of coffee. And I walked back there and told him, I said, I'm going to fix you some breakfast. He said, no, don't do that. He said, go get us McDonald's and get us a pan sandwich. Speaker 4 (9:50) She said she went to McDonald's, got a ham biscuit. She went by the post office and came back home. Speaker 1 (9:57) I called him, he didn't come. So I walked up there and got the paper and I couldn't back. He still wasn't here. Speaker 1 (10:04) I thought, well, he's taking an awful long time in the bathroom. So I walked in this and I saw that blue mix when I caught. Speaker 6 (10:14) Frankie tells investigators that she thinks someone might have broken into the house while she was out because Dallas's wallet and his watch were both missing from the nightstand. Speaker 4 (10:24) With her saying that his watch and wallet were missing, then we felt that robbery could have been a motive, but we didn't see