LEOMINSTER — A second man is facing a murder charge in connection with the 2021 shooting death of 19-year-old Franklin Mane, a Worcester resident whose body was found in a remote area of an industrial park, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.
Jose Pacheco, 23, of Worcester, is expected to be arraigned Friday, April 11, in Leominster District Court. He is already being held in state custody on an unrelated charge.
Authorities allege that Pacheco was one of the individuals who shot Mane. The young man’s body was discovered on May 12, 2021, in an overgrown section at the edge of a parking lot near 46 Industrial Road in Leominster.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the Office of the State Medical Examiner ruled Mane’s death a homicide, caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
Another suspect, 25-year-old Wilbert I. Nieves of Fitchburg, was charged with murder in May 2023. His case remains ongoing.
The investigation is continuing and involves detectives from Leominster and Worcester police departments, as well as the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.
Reach Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org.
- The Worcester Guardian is an independent nonprofit news organization. Support local journalism by making a DONATION today.
