A Long Island man has been arrested and accused of murdering his uncle and burying him in the woods behind his home. Jonathan Roman, 42, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 71-year-old John Frankowski, who had been missing since last Saturday. But the News reports that Roman allegedly confessed to the murder to his mother: "He just started crying, ‘Mommy, I did it! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’” Sandra Roman told them. “He had a guilty conscience."
Police believe Roman and Frankowski got into a fight over a family inheritance last weekend, and Roman strangled his uncle to death. “There was an estate left to my father and his sisters and apparently my father wasn’t moving quick enough for everyone, so they took matters into their own hands. That is what we believe it to be,” said John Frankowski Jr., Frankowski's son who lives in Florida.
Frankowski’s body was found in a wooded area about a mile behind his home in Coram on Friday, and his nephew was arrested soon after. Frankowski was an accountant who was gearing up to retire, and was about to serve as best man at his only son's wedding. "He was supposed to be the best man at my wedding in three weeks, and now I cannot have a wedding because he is gone,” Frankowski Jr. told CBS.
"He has said from day one to neighbors that surround him, ‘If you ever see him, call the police. He’s a threat. I’m afraid of him,’” Frankowski Jr. added. "And my father was right — he killed him."
