Domestic Homicide in Hopkinton Leads to Suspect’s Death in Richmond

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
July 7, 2024

RICHMOND – A man who is believed to have fatally shot his wife at their residence in Hopkinton on Friday night led police on a high - speed chase through several towns on Saturday before he crashed his car and was found dead inside the vehicle.

Joseph Francis, the estranged husband of Stephanie Francis, was under a no contact order, and on bail, when he entered the Francis residence at 171 Stubtown Road in Hopkinton.
Hopkinton Police Chief Mark Carrier said three children, two Francis children and a neighbor’s child, were in the home at the time and witnessed the incident.

The children, Carrier said, called 911.

“We knew who the suspect was,” he said, “because the children witnessed the act.”
Hopkinton patrol officers Steven Johnson and Ryan Ahern arrived at the Francis residence where they found Stephanie Francis deceased.

State Police from the Hope Valley barracks were also called to the scene.
A state police press release reads, in part:

“Upon Trooper’s arrival, a deceased female, identified as Stephanie Francis, age 44, was located in the residence from an

apparent gunshot wound to the chest. Also on the scene were three juveniles who were unharmed, two of whom were Mrs. Francis’s biological children.”

Joseph Francis had fled the scene in a Chevrolet Suburban SUV. By this time, a nationwide arrest warrant, for domestic homicide and also, violating the no-contact order, had been issued and officers in every city and town were on the lookout for him.

Francis was first spotted by Westerly Police at 10:50 on Saturday morning, on Route 1 North near Route 78. A chase began, but Francis managed to evade police.

The Pursuit

Francis was next spotted by Charlestown police, between 11:30 and 11:40 a.m., travelling North on Route 2.
Richmond Police Sergeant William Litterio described the high - speed chase that ensued.

“The Charlestown Police initiated a chase with this alleged homicide suspect who was considered armed and dangerous,” he said. “The suspect was seen northbound on the town line of South Kingstown and Charlestown, after he had already been in a chase with Westerly, South Kingstown, Narragansett, State Police – he had already been in a chase with them, and they lost sight of him somewhere.”

“At the Route 2 and 112 split, he took the left and went down 112,” Litterio said. “Myself and officer Brock Taylor were working, we were the two guys scheduled yesterday [Saturday].”

Litterio described the chase as it continued into Richmond.

“As I came off Shannock Hill to Route 112, the suspect vehicle went by at a high rate of speed, being pursued by the two Charlestown guys,” he said. “Officer Taylor was stationed at the Charlestown Fire Station on Route 112, so he got in the pursuit and I got in the pursuit and the suspect went all the way down 112 to the Town Hall, to the new rotary. The suspect made a right turn onto [Route] 138 and went down about, maybe, a mile or two, and then he turned around and came back westbound, back towards the Town Hall.”

Litterio was now leading the chase.

“I begin pursuing him from the top of 138, … we come down, as we come into the rotary, I could see a vehicle had just entered the rotary, heading westbound towards the center of town, and he’s coming down the hill at a high rate of speed and I can see him panic-braking, and he actually rear - ends the occupied motor vehicle in the rotary – hit that person out of his way essentially,” he said.

(The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.)

The chase continued onto Carolina Nooseneck Road.

“All the way through Carolina Nooseneck, through the dirt section of Carolina Nooseneck, through the intersection of Tefft Hill Road and New London Turnpike, and then, at the end of Tefft Hill Road, he was traveling at such a high rate of speed,” Litterio said. “Tefft Hill Road, you know, it actually ends on Dawley Park and then then, there’s woods in front of you or you have to go left on Route 3. He came out of Tefft Hill at such a high rate of speed that he made the left turn, lost control, hit the center median and rolled over.”
Litterio recalled that at this point, he had already unlocked his patrol rifle.

“There was a Charlestown unit with me, two Charlestown units, and Officer Taylor,” he said. “We kept the perimeter on the vehicle. The suspect did not get out of the vehicle. We took a position of cover behind vehicle doors and vehicles to protect ourselves from fire from him, because we knew he was armed. Within about a minute, I would say approximately a minute to a minute and a half after the vehicle came to a final rest, and after we had set up a perimeter, we heard a single loud ‘pop,’ which was consistent with that of a gunshot.”

The Richmond part of the pursuit was over in just a few minutes.

“Believe it or not, we covered about six miles in about four minutes,” Litterio said.
The officers waited until the Road Island State Police SWAT team had determined that it was safe for them to leave their positions.

“We kept the perimeter until the state police SWAT team came down and made a tactical entry into the vehicle and verified our suspicions of him being deceased,” Litterio said.

The Medical Examiner confirmed Francis’s death, the cause of which will be announced after an autopsy has been performed.

A Tragedy for the Town

Back in Hopkinton, Carrier noted with relief that the chase had not taken other lives.

“This is a guy who’s got nothing to lose, and it’s by the grace of God that he didn’t hit anyone else,” he said. “When you’re chasing someone for a homicide, that’s a dangerous chase.”

The Francis children, he said, were staying with relatives.

“This is a tragic event for the entire community,” he said. “This is a family in our community. It’s tough to see the kids go through this.”