Christopher Griggs bio – Christopher Griggs Wiki
Christopher Griggs appeared before a DeKalb County judge during a virtual hearing. The judge provided Griggs with his charges — one count of malice murder and one count of first-degree arson.
AGE:
Christopher Griggs is 27 years old.
DETAIL OF INCIDENCE:
Authorities have arrested a man they claim stabbed a beloved Georgia pastor to death before setting her on fire.
According to court documents, Christopher Griggs — a former inmate who was previously charged with sexual assault and impersonating a police officer — faces one count of malice murder and one count of first-degree arson in the death of 57-year-old Rev. Marita Harrell in Dekalb County, Ga.
Citing Dekalb County Police, WAGA-TV reports Marita was allegedly fatally stabbed at Griggs’ home Wednesday while she mentored him as part of her work as a senior pastor at a local church. Police allege he then put her body in a van and drove it to a remote location, where he set it on fire.
Marita’s husband and older daughter told the station they first became worried about Marita’s whereabouts when she failed to return home the night she was with Griggs. The pair said they tracked her down by locating her phone.
“I was there, and I still didn’t believe it,” Marita’s daughter Marae recalled of the moment she found her mother’s burning body. “I was expecting her to wake up, open her eyes or move.”
The pastor’s husband, Antonio Harrell, told the station he and his daughters expressed their concern over some of the individuals she helped mentor, specifically Griggs.
“That was a point of contention between the two of us, between all of us, especially with this gentleman because he called two weeks ago,” he said. “She told me, ‘Antonio, God has placed these people in my life, I cannot turn away from them.'”
The mom of two reportedly insisted her faith-based work was her calling, often trying to help young adults get their lives on track, per WAGA.
“She had an open, wonderful, and accepting heart and she was always willing to learn about new people and she loved people,” her daughter Alyse remembered.
Griggs is currently being held at Dekalb County Jail. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had retained an attorney or entered pleas.