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Drew Franklin of Austin was identified on various social media platforms as the victim of a stabbing in Granite Shoals. Contributed -
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On the night of the incident, several young people shared Snapchat videos screenshot of the alleged suspect here who suffered an apparent cut to his own chin — after a stabbing death June 2 in Granite Shoals. Police alleged that Austin Cole Long (pictured in a Snapchat screenshot) confessed to the homicide. Contributed
A 24-year-old Marble Falls man confessed to stabbing a victim to death, over an alleged property theft dispute, according to police documents and evidence collected from a Snapchat social media application.
Authorities also reported they recovered the knife believed to have been used in the homicide from the suspect’s vehicle.
Police arrived at the scene around 11:30 p.m. on June 2 at a residence in the 1400 block of Kingfish Drive in Granite Shoals, where they found a victim dead on the floor, the police report stated.
“During the investigation it was discovered that the defendant had posted a video on `Snapchat’ naming the victim,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
A series of social media posts, including the suspect’s own identified the victim as Drew Franklin of Austin.
“I noted upon review of the video that the defendant had a wound on his chin,” the probable cause arrest affidavit stated.
“A video posted a short time later showed the defendant having stitches administered by an unknown individual,” the document continued.
On the Snapchat platform, users share videos and photos which disappear after several seconds, but can be screen captured and saved by recipients.
The document stated that investigators watched the videos — referred to by users as “snaps” — and identified the suspect based on other social media platform images.
That night, Granite Shoals police and Texas Ranger investigators found the vehicle matching the description of the suspect’s car which left the scene of the incident.
According to the affidavit, officers stopped the car for moving violations, identified the suspect and took him into custody.
Investigators “retrieved the knife from the vehicle and observed what was believed to be dried blood on the handle of the knife,” the document stated.
As of June 8, Long remained in the Burnet County Jail on a murder charge with a $500,000 surety bond.
He also faced charges of driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance with surety bonds totaling $4,000.