Tulsa Fire Captain Speaks Out About Brother's Death

A Tulsa firefighter is dealing with death and grief after his brother's body was found in Logan County. Brent Mack has been missing for more than a month. His boss has now been arrested for Mack's murder.

Troy Franklin Smith is a captain for the Tulsa Fire Department and Mack's brother. He says in his line of work he sometimes must notify families of death, but he never thought he would be getting the same news about his little brother.

"He taught me how to fight. We did everything we rode bikes we finished you name it," Franklin told News on 6.

Captain Troy Franklin-Smith says he and his half-brother Brent Mack were inseparable growing up in Guthrie. He says even living a few hours away, Mack would send Franklin cards every birthday.

"He's always saying 'don't be no hero' meaning 'do what you gotta do bro,'" Franklin explained, "That's probably the most hurtful thing out of this whole deal is he loved what I did, and he looked up to that."

Investigators say Mack had been missing for more than a month and was last seen in Guthrie. Franklin got the call last night his brother's body was found buried under a septic tank in Logan County.

"It just hit me like a ton of bricks when I got the call. That was the longest 30 days of my life honestly not knowing where his remains were or where his person was," Franklin said.

Franklin said his brother worked for Daniel Triplett who owns a septic tank business. Police arrested Triplett hours after his remains were found. He was booked for murder and desecrating Mack's corpse.

"He killed the wrong guy, because he obviously thought this guy was not loved or something to take them and discard him the way he did," Franklin admitted.

Franklin says the last time he saw Mack is when they rode horses together in April. Franklin says he's glad his brother's killer is off the streets but still has questions.

 "We put it in God's hands and we're going to get justice," Franklin promised.

Police say they're still waiting for the medical examiner to determine how Mack died.