Unanswered Calls, Unresolved Justice: The Kenyona Griffin Story

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No tears for black girls when
they disappear.

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No tears for black girls like
they were never here.

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But we remember.
We'll speak their names, their

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stories matter.
We'll break these chains.

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No tears left to cry, just true
to fire, just to delay.

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The Yellow house at 553 Sheldon
Ave.

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SE stood a mile South of
downtown Grand Rapids.

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From the sidewalk, you'd first
notice its broad front porch

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with wooden railings weathered
by Michigan's harsh seasons.

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The two-story clapboard
structure absorbed rather than

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reflected the weak March
sunlight.

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Built in 19 O3, the home spoke
through its sounds.

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Wooden floors that announced
every footstep with distinctive

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creeks the family could identify
by person, radiators that

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clanked and hissed in winter,
windows that rattled when West

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winds blew.
The Southeast community carries

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contradictions in its very
foundation.

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Once stately homes like 553
Sheldon stand alongside vacant

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lots, Corner stores with bullet
resistant glass operate blocks

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from trendy coffee shops,
signals of gentrification

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creeping southward from
downtown.

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At night, distant sirens become
part of the soundtrack, along

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with buses rumbling down nearby
Division Ave.

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Neighbors here develop selective
attention, knowing when to look

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and when to mind their business.
Not from indifference, but

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survival.
To understand what was lost at

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553 Sheldon Ave. you need to
know the women who called it

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home.
Jacqueline Baber Bay, 65, was

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the gravitational center that
held generations together.

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Barely 5 feet tall with deep
brown eyes that missed nothing,

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she commanded attention without
raising her voice.

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For over 20 years, she worked at
a local nursing home where

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colleagues remembered her as the
kind of caregiver who tracked

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not just medical needs, but
birthdays, grandchildren's names

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and favorite foods.
Her home reflected her nurturing

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spirit.
Walls adorned with family

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photos.
Refrigerator covered with

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children's artwork.
Cupboard stocked for Sunday

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dinners Sherletta Baber Bay,
Jacqueline's 47 year old

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daughter, had lived in the
Yellow House her entire life.

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Friends described her as shy but
sweet, with a laugh that burst

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out unexpectedly like summer
rain.

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She took pride in her
meticulously arranged collection

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of elephant figurines and had
only recently entered her first

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serious romantic relationship.
My sister was like a teenager in

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love.
Anya Griffin, Sherletta's

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sister, told me, her voice
catching.

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She'd never had anyone before.
She called me about little

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things he did, bringing her
coffee, walking her to the bus

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stop, small gestures that meant
the world to her.

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What Charletta couldn't know was
that these small kindnesses were

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calculated tools of
manipulation, wielded by a

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practiced predator.
Keiona Griffin, at 25,

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represented the family's future.
Born March 8th, 1994, she had

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celebrated her birthday just
five days before her murder with

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warm amber brown skin and a wide
smile revealing slightly crooked

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front teeth.
She hated them.

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Everyone else found them
endearing.

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Kiona was the family spark plug.
She organized celebrations,

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created new traditions and
dreamed aloud she was planning

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to go back to school, her
brother, Sanford Cummings the

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Second, told reporters.
She wanted to work with kids,

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maybe become a teacher.
She was always corralling the

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little cousins at family
gatherings, doing art projects

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with them.
On her phone later recovered

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from the crime scene,
investigators found dozens of

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screenshots of apartment
listings.

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Keiona had been planning to move
out, to start her independent

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life.
She never got the chance.

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Darryl Demon Brown cultivated
invisibility.

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In an age where most people
leave constant electronic

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footprints, Brown was a ghost.
No social media, no bank

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accounts, no credit cards, no
registered phone, nothing tying

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him to any specific location or
identity.

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Even his appearance was designed
for anonymity.

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Clean shaven, average height and
build, wearing nondescript

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clothing that left no
impression, Surveillance footage

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captured after the murders shows
him in a plain Gray hoodie and

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jeans and outfit, blending in
anywhere.

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Born February 3rd, 1974, Brown
grew up in Grand Rapids and

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graduated from a local high
school.

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But his early life remains
largely a mystery, one of many

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gaps in a biography that seems
deliberately incomplete.

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What we do know comes primarily
from his criminal history and

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from women who survived
relationships with him.

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The pattern is consistent and
disturbing.

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He starts out as the perfect
gentleman, explained Doctor

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Catherine Wilson, a forensic
psychologist I consulted about

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domestic abusers who escalate to
homicide.

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He's attentive, seemingly
devoted.

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Then comes isolation, cutting
victims off from friends and

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family.
Then control, monitoring

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movements, dictating who they
can talk to.

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Then threats, and finally
violence.

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This was precisely the
progression described by a woman

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Brown dated in 2005.
Court records show that when she

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attempted to end their
relationship, he tied her up

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with electrical cords, gagged
her with a sock, kicked her in

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the face and doused her in
lighter fluid, threatening to

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set her on fire.
She later dropped charges,

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telling the court he needs help,
not prison.

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Reverend Robert Dean of New Life
Church encountered Brown when he

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found him digging through the
church's dumpster.

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Taking pity, Dean allowed Brown
temporary shelter.

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This arrangement ended when one
of Brown's girlfriends came to

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Dean expressing fear.
She felt he was very nice, very

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mannerable, but there was that
certain little element she was

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afraid of.
Dean recalled When Brown

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discovered them talking, he
burst into Dean's office,

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declaring I forbid her to talk
to males.

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Dean described Brown as having a
Jekyll and Hyde personality,

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charming and humble one moment,
controlling and threatening the

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next.
This was the man who gained

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Shirleta Barber Bae's trust and
affection.

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The man who lived at 553 Sheldon
Ave. for two years.

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A quiet presence at family
gatherings, a shadow in the

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yellow house.
Looking back, Anya Griffin later

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said there were signs.
How he'd answer questions for my

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sister, how she stopped coming
to family events, how he always

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needed to know where she was.
But we didn't see it then.

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We didn't know what to look for.
March 13th, 2019 began like any

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ordinary Wednesday at 553
Sheldon Ave.

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Radiators clank to life around
6:00 AM as the programmable

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thermostat kicked in.
Outside, the temperature hover

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just above freezing under an
iron Gray sky threatening snow.

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Jacqueline Barber Bay left for
work around 8:00 AM, the front

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door clicking shut behind her.
She called out a goodbye, not

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knowing it would be the last
time she'd see her daughter and

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niece alive.
What happened next can only be

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reconstructed from physical
evidence, 911 calls and the

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timeline established by
investigators.

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Between 8:00 AM and 10:25 AM,
Darryl Brown shot Shirleta Baber

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Bay in the back of the head as
she lay in bed watching

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something on her iPad, earbuds
still in her ears.

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The medical examiner later
determined death was

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instantaneous.
At least she didn't suffer.

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We don't know if Keiona heard
the gunshot from elsewhere in

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the house.
We don't know if she encountered

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Brown immediately after her
aunt's murder or if hours passed

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before he turned his attention
to her.

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We don't know if they spoke, if
she pleaded, if she tried to

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reason with him.
What we do know is that at 10:25

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AM, Keiona Griffin, terrified
and hiding somewhere in the

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house, made a desperate call to
911.

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I need help.
The dispatcher straining to

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hear.
Hello.

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I need help.
Where are you located?

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553 Sheldon Ave.
SE.

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And then the words that should
have changed everything.

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Can you just hurry up, please?
He's trying to kill me.

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He already killed my auntie.
Can you hurry up, please?

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Outside, the neighborhood
continued its Wednesday morning

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routine.
A postal worker delivered mail.

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Children sat in classrooms
blocks away at Congress

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Elementary.
A neighbor across the street

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brought in groceries.
Life proceeded normally, unaware

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of the terror unfolding behind
the yellow walls of 553 Sheldon.

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Inside the Grand Rapids 911
dispatch center, the call was

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categorized and officers were
sent to the address.

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But crucially, tragically, the
full content of Keone's call

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wasn't relayed.
The dispatcher either didn't

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hear or didn't communicate that
the caller had reported a murder

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had already occurred.
This critical failure would

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later become the subject of an
internal investigation and would

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haunt everyone involved.
It raised painful questions.

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If officers had known someone
was already dead inside, would

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they have forced entry?
Could Keiona have been saved?

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At 10:33 AM, three Grand Rapids
police officers arrived at 553

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Sheldon Ave.
Their body cameras recorded

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every second of their three
minute and 42 second visit.

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The footage shows them
approaching cautiously, standard

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procedure for potential violence
calls.

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They knock firmly on the front
door.

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No answer.
They circle to the side door,

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knock again.
Nothing.

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Grand Rapids Police Department
One officer calls out, his voice

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echoing in the still morning
air.

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They peer through windows,
cupping hands around their eyes

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to block glare.
Through one window, an officer

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reports seeing what looks like
an empty dining room.

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Another reports nothing visible
in the back of the house.

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They try calling Kiona's number
straight to voicemail.

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All doors are locked, no windows
broken, no sounds from inside,

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no calls for help, no visible
signs of disturbance.

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One officer can be heard on the
body Cam footage saying might be

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a 1096 referring to department
code for a person with mental

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health issues.
At 10:37 AM, having found no

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justification for forcing entry
and having received no

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additional information that a
murder had already occurred

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inside, the officers leave.
Inside the yellow house, Keiona

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Griffin remains hidden,
terrified, waiting for help that

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isn't coming.
What happened in the next two

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hours will never be fully known.
Did Brown search for Keiona?

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Did she try to escape?
Was she already wounded when she

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made the 911 call?
The physical evidence suggests

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she was shot in an upstairs
bedroom, but when precisely

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those shots were fired remains
unclear.

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What is clear is that sometime
between the police departure at

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10:37 AM and 12:55 PM, Keiona
Griffin was shot 4 times,

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including a fatal shot to the
face.

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The front door of 553 Sheldon
Ave. had a distinctive sound, a

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slight squeal from hinges
needing oil, followed by the

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thud of wood against the
interior wall if opened two

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forcefully.
It's the sound that announced

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Sanford Cummings the Second's
arrival at 12:55 PM.

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He had come to check on his
sister after being unable to

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reach her by phone, a growing
unease pushing him to drive over

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rather than wait for a call
back.

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What he found inside transformed
his life in an instant.

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Come to 553 Sheldon, he gasped
to the 911 dispatcher.

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There's blood everywhere, and my
sister's not moving.

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His voice rises in the
recording, breaking with grief

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and shock.
Oh my Lord, please, Kiona,

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please wake up, Please.
The dispatcher tries maintaining

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calm, asking questions about the
scene, but Sanford's attention

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is consumed by his sister's
body, by the desperate hope that

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somehow, despite what his eyes
tell him, she might still be

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alive.
It's a heartbreaking moment of

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human denial, that brief,
merciful period when the mind

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refuses to accept what it cannot
bear.

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But reality cannot be held at
Bay for long.

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Kiona was gone 7 minutes after
Sanford's call.

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Grand Rapids police returned to
553 Sheldon Ave. for the second

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time that day.
This time, there was no

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hesitation at the threshold.
Officers entered with weapons

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drawn, moving room to room,
first securing the scene, then

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confirming what Sanford had
already reported.

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A young woman was dead.
But the horror wasn't complete.

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In another upstairs bedroom,
officers discovered a second

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victim.
Charleta Babe, or Bay, lay in

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bed, partially covered by a
blanket, an iPad beside her,

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00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,400
earbuds still in her ears.
She had been shot in the back of

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the head.
The 4th resident of the house,

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00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,640
the man known to the family as
Jay, was gone.

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00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:49,240
The brick chimney of 553 Sheldon
Ave. still stood after the fire,

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00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,480
a lone Sentinel rising from
charred remains.

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00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:57,080
The rest of the house, it's
creaking floors, it's history,

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00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,480
soaked walls, it's rooms where
generations had lived and

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00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,480
laughed and ultimately died, was
gone.

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00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:08,200
On July 10th, 2020, just 16
months after the double

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00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,560
homicide, flames tore through
the yellow house in the early

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00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,640
morning hours.
The fire started in the living

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00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,080
room, where candles had been
left burning after a vigil for

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00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,840
Kiona and Charletta.
By the time neighbors noticed

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00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,720
the smoke and called 911, flames
had already engulfed the front

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00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,760
of the house.
When firefighters arrived, they

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00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:33,080
found a house transformed into a
furnace, heat so intense it

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00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,200
melted the siding on neighboring
homes.

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00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,520
In a back bedroom on the 2nd
floor, they found 65 year old

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00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:43,000
Jacqueline Babur Bay and her
five year old great grandson,

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00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,320
Emma Rayon EJ Cummings, both
unconscious from smoke

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00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:50,360
inhalation.
Firefighters carried them out

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00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,680
performing CPR on the front lawn
as neighbors watched in horror.

254
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,120
Jacqueline was pronounced dead
at the scene.

255
00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:03,640
EJ Small, body limp in the arms
of a paramedic, was rushed to

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00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:05,560
Helen De Vos Children's
Hospital.

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00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:10,680
He died hours later.
In the span of less than a year

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00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,880
and a half, a family that had
once filled a home with three

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00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:17,040
generations of life had been
nearly extinguished.

260
00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,040
Meanwhile, the hunt for Darrell
Brown continues.

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00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:26,000
In February 2020, Kent County
prosecutors charged him with two

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00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,960
counts of open murder.
In July 2021, the US Marshall

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00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,920
Service added Brown to their 15
Most Wanted list, offering a

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00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,720
$25,000 reward for information
leading to his arrest.

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00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,760
Brown has a history of violence
and is a clear menace to

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00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,560
society, said Bruce Norden,
acting US Marshall of the

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00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:50,360
Western District of Michigan.
The Marshall Service and our

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00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,440
federal, state and local law
enforcement partners will use

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00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,240
every available resource to
bring him to justice.

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00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,640
What makes Brown so difficult to
capture is what made him

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00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,079
dangerous to begin with.
His ability to exist in the

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00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:07,240
shadows.
He lived a remarkably analog

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00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,560
life in our digital world.
No social media, no bank

274
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:16,280
accounts, no credit cards, no
cell phone contract, no utility

275
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,760
bills, none of the electronic
bread crumbs most fugitives

276
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,920
leave behind.
He's a ghost, one investigator

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00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,440
told me, requesting anonymity.
Most fugitives make mistakes

278
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:30,720
because they want to maintain
their lifestyle.

279
00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,560
They use credit cards.
They call family.

280
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:37,080
They check social media.
Brown didn't have any of those

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00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:41,800
attachments to begin with.
Brown would now be 50 years old.

282
00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,720
He's described as a 5 feet 8
inches black male with black

283
00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,840
hair and brown eyes, weighing
approximately 180 lbs.

284
00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:54,520
He uses various aliases,
including JJ Robinson, Michael

285
00:17:54,520 --> 00:18:00,320
Richardson and Marcus Wright.
He looks very unassuming, Norden

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00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,680
warned, and could literally be
standing behind you in a grocery

287
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:07,160
checkout lane.
The story of what happened at

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00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:11,640
553 Sheldon Ave. is not just
about murder and manhunt.

289
00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,800
It's about vulnerability, about
the walls we put up or don't put

290
00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,120
up, about the people we let into
our lives and about the

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00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:22,240
sometimes devastating
consequences of trust misplaced.

292
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:27,000
It's about the ripple effects of
violence, how taking one life

293
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,000
actually takes many, how
survivors are forever changed by

294
00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:35,240
empty spaces, at dinner tables,
by birthdays never celebrated,

295
00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:40,280
by futures stolen.
Keiona Griffin would be 31 now.

296
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,520
Perhaps she would have become
the teacher she dreamed of

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00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,000
being.
Perhaps she would have had

298
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,320
children of her own.
Perhaps she would have moved

299
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,360
into her own apartment, as those
listings on her phone suggested.

300
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,880
Shirleta Baber Bay would be 53,
perhaps still collecting

301
00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,480
elephant figurines, perhaps
finally experiencing the genuine

302
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:03,360
love and partnership she
deserved.

303
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:09,120
Jacqueline Baber Bay would be
71, perhaps retired, enjoying

304
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:11,280
her grandchildren and great
grandchildren.

305
00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:18,000
Emma Rayon EJ Cummings would be
10 in fifth grade, perhaps

306
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,240
playing basketball or video
games, growing into the person

307
00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:26,720
he was meant to become.
All these futures erased Keiona

308
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,040
Griffin's last whispered words.
Can you hurry up?

309
00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:34,520
Please continue to echo a plea
for help that came too late for

310
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,000
her but might yet lead to
justice if the right person

311
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,400
recognizes Darrell Brown and
makes a call.

312
00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,720
If you have information about
Darrell Brown's whereabouts,

313
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:48,000
please contact the US Marshals
Service or submit a tip online

314
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:52,600
at usmarshals.gov.
Back slash tips There is a

315
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:57,360
$25,000 reward for information
leading directly to his arrest.

316
00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,280
For those experiencing domestic
violence, help is available.

317
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:06,600
The National Domestic Violence
Hotline provides support 24/7 at

318
00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:13,760
1-800-799-7233.
This has been no tears for black

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00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,040
girls.
I'm Samantha Paul, thank you for

320
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,920
listening.
Stay love, stay blessed, and

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00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:20,640
stay safe.