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Wife Accused Of Hiring 4 Hitmen To Kill Husband

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: December 17, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - An empty tank of gas likely saved Fenol Francois's life.

On the morning of Nov. 18, Francois left his home early to fuel up before heading to work. In his absence, three men broke into his home at 8110 Nightwalker Road.

These were not burglars, but assassins, investigators say, and there was a purpose for the guns and the knife they carried: Francois' wife wanted him dead.

That's the climax of an alleged "murder-for-hire" scheme revealed in the arrest affidavits of three people released on Tuesday.

A pivotal player is Jacqucia Francois, the wife, who reportedly told detectives she wanted to be free of her husband and acquire the assets she shared with him. To do that, she went through an Orlando associate, Kedner "Ken" Noel, to hire hit men, detectives say.

According to authorities, here's what happened next:

On Nov. 16, Mrs. Francois met with Noel and the three alleged assassins in a steak house parking lot on Commercial Way. Noel brought along Frans Guerrier, 34, Esnel Baptiste and a man named "Mitch," who hasn't been fully identified yet.

Mrs. Francois gave Noel some money for a hotel room in Hudson, then arranged a second rendezvous for the next day in a hardware store parking lot. At this second meeting, Noel was paid and Mitch provided with the layout of the couple's home.

This information was passed on to the two alleged hit men, along with the promise that they could keep the drugs and cash in the home as payment. The plan was to strike at 5:30 a.m., before Mr. Francois left for work.

Mrs. Francois had an alibi. She would be at work as a Wal-Mart cashier and return home from work around 7:30 a.m. to find her husband dead. But things didn't go as planned.

The scheme unraveled when Mr. Francois left for work early to gas his car. His 13-year-old son was left home alone. The three suspects ransacked the home looking for the drugs and money promised. But Noel had lied - there was no money.

The couple's 13-year-old son was rousted from bed at gunpoint and told to show them the safe. When he couldn't lead them to a safe that didn't exist, the suspects, now feeling double-crossed, bound him with tape and waited for Mrs. Francois to return home.

When Mrs. Francois arrived, Mitch began arguing with her outside the house, yelling that she had "set them up" and that he would "get her for it." The commotion attracted the notice of neighbors.

The suspects piled into a borrowed Ford Econoline van for the return trip to Orlando, but their speedy getaway was not unnoticed. Nightwalker is a major north/south connector road for western Hernando County and the suspects were driving during the morning rush.

Someone called in a "reckless driver," and provided a tag and solid vehicle description. Investigators were quick to link it to Orlando.

"If they hadn't waited for her to come home they might have gotten away," Sgt. Donna Black, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said Tuesday.

Three days later, detectives had serious doubts that this was a random home invasion. They questioned Mrs. Francois again and she gave them a partial confession to meeting with the co-conspirators, but there was no proof yet she wanted to kill her husband, a report shows. She was released, but warned that she was still under investigation.

On Dec. 2, a detective monitoring Mrs. Francois' bank accounts noticed that she had cashed a certificate of deposit worth more than $57,000 and split the amount into two cashier's checks. On Dec. 4, she was followed by detectives to the home of Noel's girlfriend in Orlando. Mrs. Francois had previously said she did not know Noel's girlfriend, detectives say.

Phone records reportedly show that Mrs. Francois called Noel the morning of Nov. 18 when she discovered that the alleged hired guns were still in her home. More phone calls were later made to Mitch and Guerrier, as well, according to an affidavit.

On Saturday, Mrs. Francois, 46, was arrested in Masaryktown on suspicion of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Noel, 33, of Orlando, was arrested Monday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and principal in the first degree; Guerrier, 34, of Orlando, was arrested Nov. 20 and charged with armed home invasion and kidnapping.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Baptiste. The man identified as Mitch remains at large.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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