Darrell Boggs pleads guilty to raping and neglecting his incapacitated landlady

Date published: 10/5/2005

By BILL FREEHLING

A Spotsylvania County man pleaded guilty yesterday to raping and criminally neglecting his landlady after she suffered an apparent fall down a set of stairs.

Darrell E. Boggs, 56, had been charged with murdering and sodomizing 51-year-old Sandra L. Frances in April, but those charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Boggs pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania Circuit Court to rape and neglect of an incapacitated adult. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 11.

Boggs was renting a room at Frances' home on Robert E. Lee Drive in Spotsylvania when the incident occurred. Frances had three children.

Frances apparently fell down the stairs leading to her basement bedroom after drinking with Boggs the night of April 16, according to the plea agreement.

Boggs told detectives he found her unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. He said he gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and she started breathing. Boggs and the woman's 10-year-old son put her in bed.

Boggs told detectives that he later checked on Frances, and found her unconscious and wet from urine. Boggs said he removed her clothes below the waist and had sex with her.

Frances' 16-year-old son told detectives his mother was in bed all day on April 17. When he was still unable to rouse her at 7 p.m., he pulled the blanket from her body and saw that she was unclothed below the waist.

Police were called, and Frances was taken to Mary Washington Hospital. She was diagnosed with a serious brain injury and was sent to VCU Medical Center in Richmond for surgery.

The neurological surgeon at VCU said quick medical attention might have prevented permanent damage, according to the plea agreement. But 17 hours went by before Frances was treated.

She died at the Richmond hospital May 22, never having regained consciousness.

Rape is punishable by up to life in prison; neglect of an incapacitated adult is punishable by up to 10 years. But prosecutor La Bravia Jenkins said she will ask that Boggs serve no more than 10 years in prison.

Jenkins said Boggs has cirrhosis of the liver and could die before the 10 years are up. Boggs coughed deeply on numerous occasions yesterday and appeared to have trouble standing.

According to his court file, Boggs is a Vietnam War veteran with a history of depression. A psychiatric evaluation found him competent to stand trial.

Defense attorney Eugene Frost said he intends to argue for less than 10 years in prison. He said the sentencing hearing will likely take about two hours.

To reach BILL FREEHLING: 540/374-5424 bfreehling@freelancestar.com

Read more stories about Spotsylvania
Date published: 10/5/2005