By: Yuritza Arroyo
Atlantic County authorities announced that on Friday, June 23, Frankie E. Lane, 61, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 20 years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act for first-degree aggravated manslaughter.
According to Atlantic City Police, on June 11, 2021, Officers responded to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City for a report of a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Police said the victim was found deceased in a hotel room with a sheet covering her body and a knife on top of the sheet.
The victim’s boyfriend, Lane, was seen on surveillance footage wearing clothing later found in a bag that had been tossed in a trash can in Atlantic City.
According to officials, Lane was seen leaving the hotel with the bag but did not have it with him at the Atlantic City bus terminal, where security footage showed him traveling back to Philadelphia.
Lane was located and surrendered to law enforcement a few days later.
Officials said Whaley’s surviving family members spoke to the sentencing and fondly remembered their loved one.
This case was investigated by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Atlantic City Police Department with assistance from the New Jersey Transit Police.