Trial begins in deadly Granite Falls feud

Published 9:00 pm Monday, December 10, 2001

Herald staff

A Granite Falls man went on trial Monday, charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal neighborhood feud.

Kenneth Charles Jensen, 57, is charged with shooting Martin Frank, 40, in the chest during an August argument in front of Frank’s home.

The shooting capped a longstanding dispute between the men. They routinely greeted each other with rude gestures, curses and statements questioning the others’ mental health or sexuality, a Snohomish County Superior Court jury was told.

Frank was shot in the chest with a .357-caliber Magnum handgun, according to court papers. The fatal confrontation occurred after Jensen rode his bicycle past Frank’s home in the late afternoon.

Gia Frank told jurors that her husband and Jensen had feuded for years, sometimes exchanging insults two to three times a day.

"Anytime they were in eye contact there were gestures or words exchanged," she said.