Updated: After midnight on July 6, Hopkinton Police knew they had a killer on the loose but never alerted local residents. Joe Francis had just shot and killed his wife Stephanie in Hopkinton RI and took off from police with a shotgun in a new black SUV. Police knew Francis was arrested in May with a weapon and was told to stay away from his wife. On Saturday morning, Francis was racing around southern Rhode Island reaching speeds of over 120mph, (with a weapon) yet police never alerted local residents to the danger or issued a shelter in place. Francis could have car-jacked a vehicle, taken a hostage, or engaged in a shoot-out with police. Instead, he crashed and lost his life, but for 12 hours a killer with a gun was on the loose. The feeling was he had left the area and was still in his vehicle. Not like he crashed and was a fugitive on foot.