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"An Outsider And Honest Besides"
Michael, 42, was a former prosecutor and judge, chosen as Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections in 1987. On January 17, 1989, the night before he was to speak to the Oregon Senate about corruption he’d discovered, he was stabbed to death.
Officials refused the theory that this had been a move to silence Michael, instead insisting he had been the victim of a car burglary. In 1991, 29-year-old petty criminal Frank Gable was railroaded into a no-parole life sentence for Michael Francke's murder. He spent the next 28 years incarcerated.
In 2019, Gable's conviction was overturned, and he was exonerated, receiving a settlement of 1.9 million dollars, paid by the State of Oregon. This was after a federal appellate court found "significant investigative misconduct" by the State, as well as the exclusion of crucial evidence indicating another suspect in the murder.
Now, almost 40 years after Michael Francke's murder, his unknown killer or killers remain free, and local journalist Phil Stanford has written a book about the murder, the wrongful conviction, and how Michael’s brother, Kevin, has been fighting for justice for all these years. “Who Killed Michael Francke- and How They Got Away with It” is available now. We will be interviewing Phil Stanford on the Murder in the Rain Podcast to discuss this case for an upcoming episode.
While Michael Francke's murder remains unsolved, there doesn’t seem to be a specific agency handling the case. The Oregon State Police, in fact, has refused to reopen the investigation, which they initially led in 1991.
If you have any information about Michael Franke’s murder on January 17, 1989, OregonCrimestoppers.org would be a good place to start, or you can email us at Murderintherain@gmail.com, and we can connect you with the case’s expert, Phil Stanford. Who Killed Michael Francke? - 1989 | KATU In The Archives - Phil Stanford Oregonian 1990 ad - DESTINY KEPT THE APPOINTMENT 2.8.89 - Michael Francke - Unsolved Mysteries - Portraits of guilt : the woman who profiles the faces of America's deadliest criminals : Boylan, Jeanne : Internet Archive - Unsolved Mysteries: The Michael Francke Case Explained | TikTok - Without Evidence | Angelina Jolie | YouTube - https://www.statesmanjournal.com/picture-gallery/news/2019/04/19/photos-through-years-michael-francke-murder/3520300002/
Our True Crime Tuesday segment on KOIN's AM Extra about Michael's murder.
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What a haunting case — and a powerful reminder of how often "unsolved" and "wrongly solved" go hand in hand. The fact that Oregon refused to entertain the silencing theory from day one, then railroaded a petty criminal to close the books, speaks volumes. Gable lost 28 years, but the Francke family lost a brother and any real shot at justice. It's damning that the Oregon State Police won't reopen an investigation they botched so badly. Thanks for keeping this story alive — looking forward to the Phil Stanford interview.