Found Deceased NC - Alexandra King, 22, & Tatianna Diz, 20, Asheville, 27 Oct 2015 *Arrest*

[cvaldez1975]

I just want to hug them.

the girls were both so beautiful.

Statement from the family of AK.

http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...eleases-a-Statement-231003.shtml#.VkTnHnarSUk

 

[TravelingBug]

Statement from the family of AK.

http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...eleases-a-Statement-231003.shtml#.VkTnHnarSUk

What an incredibly lovely statement!

Just an excerpt:

When the case started as a missing persons we were impressed with the concern and support of Sheriff Duncan and all those in his department.

When the case was transferred to the APD we worried whether we would receive the same level of support.

After our first meeting these fears quickly disappeared. To Chief Hooper, Sgt. Aardema, Detectives Meindl, Allen and all those involved we wish to thank you for your concern, compassion and dedication you have shown us through this ordeal.

As social media and the news media speculated on all aspects of the case we heard many hurtful comments about the girls and the APD.

We found solace in the fact we knew the truth about our daughter and how many people were working as hard as possible to bring this to an end.

To our church family and friends we would have never made it through this without your love and support.

We find peace in the fact that Alex’s memory will live on in the hearts and minds of her many friends.

She took to heart our Lords command to love others as He loves us. We are left with a giant hole in our hearts that will never be filled, but we know we will be with her again one day.

 

[TravelingBug]

Very interesting read about some of the things we've commented on in terms of apparent discrepancies.

Mostly chalked up to the initial ones coming from the Sheriff Dept and all the latter stuff from Asheville PD.

They say some comes from different decisions with what they were ok being released, but largely from APD having more information since they were in it later and had more following the search warrants, etc.

Of specific mention were the 45-ish minute time variance as to when the girls left.

And there are comments from Pierre's GF's mom, which is the first time we've really heard anything from her 'camp'

Anyway, nothing earth shattering at all, but interesting and worthwhile read, nonetheless.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/crime/2015/11/11/accounts-womens-slaying-diverge/75566598/

 

[kreicar39]

Still lighting candles for these precious girls until justice has arrived.

 

[TravelingBug]

Details on the Uhon side of things.

The fact that he was shot within seconds makes it seem to be that it may have been past drug related stuff not current.

15 seconds hardly seems like time for a verbal exchange about much of anything, let alone asking for/demanding drugs and a refusal and a shooting and getting keys all in that incredibly brief time period, but I suppose anything is possible!

ASHEVILLE, NC--<snip>

The officer who filled out a search warrant at Uhon Johnson's apartment said the murder could possibly have happened, because of Johnson's involvement in selling drugs.

According to search warrants executed at Uhon's apartment, his father was home during the murder. Uhon's dad told police he was upstairs, while Uhon was downstairs.

John Johnson told police he heard a knock on the door; Uhon answered and let the person in. About 15 seconds later, Johnson said he heard a loud bang. He came down and saw Uhon laying in a pool of blood. Police said Uhon was shot in the head. Johnson said he looked up, and saw a light-skinned black man running away. Johnson said the man turned around and looked back. Johnson said he got a good look, but did not recognize the man. Next, Johnson says the man got into Uhon's car, and drove away.

Incident in early 2015 involving Uhon and drugs and a shooting:

October, 27th was not the first time police came to Johnson's apartment. As we previously reported, in February Wilbert Withrow tried to steal $3,600 worth of Xanax from Johnson. When Withrow broke in, Johnson shot him. Withrow showed up at the hospital with a gunshot wound.

Inside Johnson's apartment, police found 160 Xanax pills, 5 grams of marijuana, and he told police he had sold methadone. Police say the District Attorney's office did not want to pursue prosecution against Johnson.

Johnson was never charged for anything related to those drugs. <snip>.

http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...Johnson-39-s-Murder-236549.shtml#.VmSKSF6tMZw

 

[TravelingBug]

Family and friends gathered Saturday for the memorial service of Tatianna Diz, one of the victims in a triple murder case out of Asheville.

They said prayers, wrote notes on a cross, released doves and planted a tree in her memory.

&#8220;It was really nice to be able to be around all these people who loved her to be able to say goodbye to her in a way that she would have loved,&#8221; said Moriah Raby Clements, one of her friends.

http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...-Honor-Tatianna-Diz-239400.shtml#.VmSMKF6tMZw

 

[TravelingBug]

Alex King had energy, enthusiasm and a free spirit, say friends who remember her time in the Valley.

Rachel Greenan, a close friend, remembered the 22-year-old woman as remarkable.

&#8220;She was a woman of true wisdom and beautiful kindness,&#8221; said Greenan, who went to school with King. &#8220;The Bible quote, &#8216;She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue,&#8217; describes her best. She was kind to everyone, loved with her whole heart and accepted people just as they are, perfectly imperfect.&#8221;

<snip>

King loved others &#8220;with grace,&#8221; Greenan said. &#8220;She cherished those around her beyond measure and appreciated each person for the gifts and talents God game them.&#8221; Greenan described her as &#8220;a simple sort of free spirit that never took a single day for granted.&#8221; Alex was &#8220;a blessing to every person she met, but she was more than that to me, she was like a sister,&#8221; Greenan said.

<snip>

&#8220;When I heard what had happened, it made me sick to my stomach. By all accounts, King was very much at peace and happy. She had cleared some major hurdles in life. I hope her family can take comfort in her happiness, and I hope people will stay in contact with the family.&#8221;

Amy Slaughter, the math department chair and a teacher at Owen High School, remembers King as person who wanted everyone to be happy.

&#8220;When I remember Alex, I think of her always smiling,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Also, she was constantly trying to find a way to help those around her smile as well. She will be missed by many.&#8221;

<snip>

http://www.blackmountainnews.com/st...er-alex-king-free-spirit-taken-away/75992656/

 

[ElemenohP]

Pierre's in court today for a probable cause hearing.

Prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty in the case.

District Attorney Todd Williams, Buncombe County, "our office has not made a determination about how we'll proceed at this time. At a later date, once we obtain more evidence, we'll be able to review the case to determine whether or not capital aggravators are present that would warrant the pursuit of the death penalty."

http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...erer-Scheduled-in-Court-Thursday-250471.shtml

 

[ElemenohP]

https://www.facebook.com/News13/posts/10153469864811799
The probable cause hearing for Pierre has been continued until Feb. 23.

 

[cvaldez1975]

he killed 3 ppl in two separate incidences, I don't know what more they need to pursue DP. i'm not the biggest proponent of it here in my state as it is pricey to tax payers and rarely carried out before the inmate dies of natural causes, but I cant speak for NC.

 

[ElemenohP]

http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...Two-High-Profile-Murder-Suspects-252392.shtml
- Feb. 3

The case went before a grand jury on Feb. 1 and will now be taken up in superior court. The next step is an administrative date in superior court on Feb. 29.

 

[0101ABA]

Prosecutors to seek death penalty against Griffin

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty against an Asheville man charged with murder in the deaths of three people, including two women whose disappearance sparked a week-long search of the French Broad River.

The office of Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams on Wednesday filed a request for a Rule 24 hearing in the case of Pierre Lamont Griffin II, 23. The hearing is typically a formality, required when state prosecutors want to notify the court that they intend to seek capital punishment.
(...)
The hearing request comes days after a Buncombe County grand jury indicted Griffin on three counts of first-degree murder stemming from a series of Oct. 27 shootings.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/...-seek-death-penalty-against-griffin/79935560/

 

[ElemenohP]

Pierre's appearing in court today: http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...riffin-Scheduled-in-Court-Monday-253963.shtml

 

[lisette]

Court Date for Pierre Griffin Pushed to June

http://www.wlos.com/news/features/t...led-in-Court-Monday-253963.shtml#.VtR7wpj2ZMw

 

[0101ABA]

New grand jury indictments emerge in Griffin case

Grand jurors on Monday indicted Pierre Lamont Griffin II on two counts of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, crimes that officers say occurred in Henderson County, but are related to the night that left three Buncombe County residents dead.

(...)

The new indictments stem from an attempt by Griffin to rob vehicles from two drivers at gunpoint in Henderson County, said Major Frank Stout, spokesman for the Henderson County Sheriff&#8217;s Department.

(...)

Griffin was shot by two Henderson County sheriff's deputies before he was detained. Those officers have been cleared by the State Bureau of Investigation and District Attorney Greg Newman, who serves both Henderson and Polk counties.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/...ury-indictments-emerge-griffin-case/81483308/

 

[0101ABA]

Police request information from cellphone found in the home of King, Diz

Police filed a request at the Buncombe County Magistrate&#8217;s Court to search a blue cellphone Tuesday that was found in the home of Alexandra King, 22, and Tatianna Diz, 20, who were fatally shot in October.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif](...)[/FONT]

Police are requesting to seize and search for any information within the cellphone showing communication between Griffin, King and Diz. Communications can include images, video files, emails correspondences, internet browsing history and any other digital information that could be on the phone, the warrant states.

Police are also looking for any evidence regarding ownership of the phone, as well as any information containing information on drugs.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/...ome-alexandra-king-and-tatianna-diz/82981474/

 

[bookguitarguy]

I think Uhon maybe warned someone about something that Pierre was planning that night. I think Pierre confided the plan in him. Whatever the plan was, it went bad due to the warning. Pierre retaliated. I'm not sure exactly how the girls fit in.

I know this was months ago, but there is so much speculation that doesn't fit the facts, in so many of the posts here, that it blows my mind. No disrespect intended, but it makes no sense whatsoever that Pierre would have stolen the car of the man that he murdered, thus implicating himself clearly in the murder (of Uhon), unless the entire purpose of his going to see Uhon (who was a friend of his) in the first place was to borrow his car, so he could get out of town as soon as possible.

My feeling is he went there, frantic, thinking Uhon was a friend who might help him, and when Uhon wanted no part in helping him flee from the murder of the girls, or to be an accessory by doing so, and was appalled by what Pierre had done (and called him on it), Pierre lost it (and he was already probably unhinged over having murdered two women-or rather, unhinged BEFORE he murdered them), so he killed him, grabbed the keys, and then drove over to his girlfriend's house hoping she'd come with him. When she was unwilling to go, which was a wise decision on her part, he fled without her, and was several counties away when they caught him, because the WHOLE purpose of his going to see Uhon (who had no part in the drug deal or the murder of the girls and was getting his life together), was to obtain a getaway car from a friend that he trusted, and hoped might help him out.

Pierre has been described as "brilliant" and an exceptional student, not stupid at all, and no one that intelligent is going to steal the car of the man he just murdered (so he can be pulled over in a stolen car and arrested for murder), unless the entire reason he killed him in the first place was to get out of town, and probably out of North Carolina entirely. That makes a lot more sense to me, anyway. If he never stole Uhon's car, he never would have been arrested for Uhon's murder, but he wasn't fleeing primarily because of Uhon's murder, he needed the car to get out of town (or he thought he did) because he'd just murdered two women, by shooting them in the head execution style from the back seat of Alex's car, after ordering them to drive down to the river and robbing them. He probably could have just hid out in Asheville for a few days until the search was over, if he'd had a safe place to stay-if not for the fact that he'd been seen leaving Canterbury Apts with the women, their housemate knew that they'd gone with him, and there were texts between him and Alexandra about the drug deal. Because of that, he knew he would be implicated in their murders (because he murdered them), so he needed to get out of town immediately-hence the murder of Uhon, and the theft of his car.

He might even have asked Uhon to drive him somewhere, or drive him out of NC, but Uhon not wanting to be implicated in a murder by fleeing with him, and trying to live right wanted no part in it, so feeling desperate (and having just confessed to a murder), Pierre not only needed to kill a potential witness against him, but saw an opportunity to get the car he needed at the same time, so one more murder on top of the other two was no big deal at that point... he was in too deep already. That's my opinion and my story, and until there's good evidence to prove otherwise, I'm sticking to it. :O)

 

[bookguitarguy]

So far we only know that LE thinks the two events - Uhon's murder and the disappearance of Alex and Tatianna - might be connected because Pierre features in both of them, and within an hour or so no less.

However, what if the two events were not connected? Let's look at it this way:

Alex and Tatianna give Pierre a ride to another apartment building for whatever reason, then drive on w/o Pierre to meet an unknown person for a drug deal. Something goes wrong during this meeting and both get killed, the car gets pushed into the river. Their bodies either land in the water and were washed away, or were removed from the car beforehand and dumped elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Pierre has his own problems that make him so angry that he goes (or is driven) to Uhon's house and kills him.

This would loosen up the timeline a bit.


Possible? What do you all think?

Hello Elainera. Since you asked what we think, I honestly think <modsnip> you're trying much too hard to find reasons why Pierre didn't do it (which is not an objective way to solve a crime), as others here are as well. The odds of him riding off in a car with two women, who end up murdered within an hour, and ALSO murdering someone else several miles away, that had "nothing" to do with the murder of the women, are so astronomically high, that it makes a lot more sense to accept the much more likely scenario that the two murders were related, and both of them (ie, all three) were committed by Pierre. That's why he needed a getaway car, and went to his friend Uhon's house, hoping to get a ride out of town immediately, or that Uhon would loan him his car, because staying in Asheville was not an option for Pierre, he'd been seen leaving with the women, and there were texts about the drug deal, so he knew he'd be implicated for their murder. I also believe that his murder of the two white women was part of building his "street cred", possibly as a gang member, since while Uhon had decided to go straight and had gotten his life together, Pierre was going in the opposite direction, and had already robbed $800 from a woman in a hotel earlier that year... and getting his first "kill" was part of the "initiation" process for a violent street gang, so what better than two defenseless white women (who had money on them)? That's my gut feeling, based on what I know of the street life, and the attitudes that are out there.

<modsnip>

If he was going to steal the car of someone he'd murdered, to flee town, he could just as easily have taken Alexandra's car, but there would have been a lot of blood to clean up, and police would be on the lookout for that car once the girls were reported missing. I believe he went to Uhon's house in the hope that he would voluntarily loan Pierre his car, or drive him into South Carolina (or further?), and was not planning to have to flee in a stolen vehicle (that police would be looking for, which is how they caught him), but when Uhon refused to go along with it, he killed him too, and took the car. Again nothing personal, but you did ask what we thought of your theory, and I just don't buy it. The part about the street cred and the gang initiation/"getting respect" in the **** community was admittedly speculation on my part, but it happens all the time in that subculture, and it's possible. As for the murders not being connected, one would have a better chance of hitting the Power Ball lottery on the first try, IMO. :O)

 

[bookguitarguy]

the other fact is that Pierre was spotted at the Citgo on Brevard Road which could be accessed off Haywood Road either from the river area or Pisgah View apartments. 26 is near the Citgo where he probably got on with UJ's truck he took from Pisgah View after he shot & killed him. 26 is where he drove thru Henderson County to Polk county on deflated tires. I think the young women were taken care of before he shot UJ and afterwards he headed down Brevard Road to highway 26. Pierre in Buncombe County jail here in Asheville now on TV reports looks gentle eyed. This all is mind-blowing!

Incorrect. Unfortunately for your theory, he didn't head to the Citgo (and then leave town) from Pisgah View apts, he first went to Canterbury Apts to attempt to convince his girlfriend to come with him, and when she refused, as far as we know, he headed out of town. He did not go to the Citgo to gas up immediately after killing Uhon, because the police sighting/pursuit began at the Citgo, and they didn't follow him back to Canterbury, he headed out of town on I-26 as you mentioned. He did not go back to get his girlfriend, and leave the truck idling outside (as she reported) while the police were pursuing him, or they would have caught him there, before he ever made it to I-26! Instead he went to get his girlfriend first, and when that failed, he headed to the Citgo to gas up for his long journey (with the money he'd stolen from Alex), and then headed south, and was caught by police after leading them on a high-speed chase (and pointing his gun at other motorists when police damaged his car, and he needed another vehicle). <modsnip>

 

[bookguitarguy]

I think Uhon maybe warned someone about something that Pierre was planning that night. I think Pierre confided the plan in him. Whatever the plan was, it went bad due to the warning. Pierre retaliated. I'm not sure exactly how the girls fit in.

No, I don't think so, Pierre went to Uhon's for the sole purpose of trying to convince him to loan him his vehicle, or drive him out of town (and out of NC), since having been seen leaving Canterbury Apts with the women, texting them, and murdering them, Pierre would be the prime suspect, and could not stay in the Asheville area. That's the only reason he went to see Uhon (a friend of his), but Uhon had gotten his life together and was living a clean life, and wanted no part in helping him flee from a murder. As for "how the girls fit in", it's simple, Pierre shot them in the head execution-style, and robbed the money they were planning to spend on the "drug transaction", if there ever was one-but I suspect the story about going to see someone to buy some pot was just a ruse to get the women to drive him where he wanted to go, so he could murder them and rob them. Even wondering whether they stopped at Deaverview so he could run in to the apt where he'd been staying and get his gun, but that's speculation, and we don't even know for sure whether they actually stopped there. He might have had his gun with him already, and changed the plan as soon as they got out on the road, telling Alex to drive down to the river and executing and robbing them there before heading on foot over to Uhon's. That's my working theory, but the part I'm sure of is that Pierre went to Uhon's for a vehicle to get out of town with, NOT to kill him. It's a lot easier to make a getaway in a car your friend loans you, that the police aren't looking for, than one which has been reported stolen, because you just shot and killed the owner (ie, Uhon)!! He had no intention of killing Uhon, but I believe when Uhon was appalled at his killing of the girls, and refused to be an accomplice to his fleeing from a murder (by loaning him his car or driving him somewhere), Pierre killed him out of desperation, and to silence a victim that might have testified against him. The girls were robbed, and murdered possibly as part of a gang initiation or to get "street cred" for Pierre-which is also speculation, but explains why a previously decent person would do something so horrible and so unnecessary, to get his first "kill" and establish himself as a major player (to be feared and "respected") in the subculture of violent crime and drug gangs. How murdering unarmed women by shooting them in the head makes someone a "man", or worthy of any respect continues to escape me, <modsnip>