Franklin Osgood killed himself Saturday night on the New Jersey Turnpike after police say he fatally shot his wife in their Providence home.
RIDGEFIELD PARK -- Franklin Osgood killed himself Saturday night on the New Jersey Turnpike after police say he fatally shot his wife in their Providence home.
Police are seeking answers as to why the former Providence police officer would slay his wife MaryJo.
Here are five things we do know about the 61-year-old:
1. He had no criminal history.
Aside from a parking violation that was dismissed in 2002, Osgood had no prior run-ins with the law. Providence Police Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr. told the Providence Journal that police were unaware of any domestic incidents involving Osgood and his wife, who had lived together in Providence since 1996.
2. He was only a Providence Police officer for seven years.
Osgood joined the force in 1995, Clements said, but filed for an accidental disability pension in 2002. He was forced to retire on ordinary pension five years later after losing a legal battle. It's not know what his disability was. People close to him on the force spoke highly of him, Clements said.
3. He and his wife had four children.
Osgood called two of his adult children Saturday apologizing for what he had done to MaryJo and said he planned to hurt himself, WPRI reported. The children, all believed to be in their 20s, contacted Providence Police afterward, sparking an investigation that led New Jersey State Police to pursue Osgood on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Osgood refused to stop and crashed a 2007 Dodge Charger into a guard rail and a State Police cruiser, police said. Troopers found Osgood and MaryJo dead inside the car.
4. The killing likely took place Friday.
Clements told NBC 10 News Osgood likely killed in his wife in the garage of their home sometime Friday, though it's not clear exactly when. Police believe he fatally shot MaryJo with the same gun he later turned on himself.
5. He traveled through four states with his wife in the trunk.
Police tracked Osgood's car as he traveled as far south as Maryland, NBC 10 reported. A Providence police officer was in sporadic contact with Osgood as he drove. She eventually convinced him to turn back toward Rhode Island.
That led him through Pennsylvania and New Jersey before running into state police on the Turnpike.
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.