The Murders of Keyona Griffin and Cherletta Baber-Bey
Keyona Griffin, 25, before her murder. Photo: WOODTV
On the 13th March, 2019, Keyona Griffin made a desperate call to 911, begging for help and claiming she was about to be murdered. Two hours later Keyona and her aunt, Cherletta Barber-Bey were found dead in their home.
Who were Keyona Griffin and Cherletta Barber-Bey?
Keyona Griffin in her home at 553 Sheldon Avenue SE.
Keyona Griffin and Cherletta Barber-Bey were residents of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They lived together at 553 Sheldon Avenue SE along with Cherletta’s boyfriend, Derrell “Jay” Brown and Keyona’s mother Jacqueline Baber-Bey.
Keyona Griffin was born to her mother Onyah Griffin on the 8th March 1994. At the time of her death, she was 25 years old. She had a brother named Sanford Cummings II with whom she grew up.
Keyona was described by a former coworker as kind, loyal and quiet.
Cherletta Baber-Bey, was described by her family as kind, trusting, and rather antisocial.
Keyona Griffin’s 911 Call
Keyona Griffin called 911 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to report the murder of her aunt and beg for help as she feared she would be next.
The call operator seemed to miss Keyona saying that her aunt had been murdered and did not relay this crucial information to police.
Three officers from the Grand Rapids Police arrived at the location of the murder exactly seven minutes and 41 seconds after Keyona's 911 call ended.
Upon their arrival, they did not observe any evidence that would have given them legal justification to force entry into the property. They even speculated whether Keyona might have been experiencing mental health difficulties. One of the officers knocked on the front door thrice but realized it was locked.
While one officer knocked on a side door, they discovered it was also locked. Another officer peered through a window and noted that the room inside looked like a small dining area or something similar and appeared to be empty. Meanwhile, a third officer checked around the back of the house and confirmed that there was nothing there. After three minutes and 42 seconds had passed since their arrival, the officers departed the scene without having made contact with anyone.
The Bodies of Keyona Griffin and Cherletta Barber-Bey are found
Keyona Griffin and Cherletta Barber-Bey’s home. Photo: Tuko
The second 911 call reporting the incident was made two hours and 18 minutes later, as Sanford Cummings II begged for immediate assistance to the yellow house at 553 Sheldon SE.
He discovered his sister, Keyona Griffin, deceased on the floor of an upstairs bedroom, with blood everywhere. Griffin had been shot four times, one of which was in the face. He desperately cried out for his sister to wake up.
After seven minutes, the Grand Rapids police returned to 553 Sheldon for the second time that day and discovered another body in an upstairs bedroom.
The police found Cherletta Baber-Bey, Keyona's aunt, lying under a blanket on her bed, with a fatal gunshot wound to the back of her head.
She had been watching an iPad propped up on a pillow beside her, and the tablet was still playing with earbuds in her ears when the police found her.
The Main Suspect: Derrell “Jay” Brown
Derrell “Jay” Brown. Photo: US Marshalls.
At the time, Cherletta’s boyfriend had resided in the home for about two years, but the family knew him solely as "Jay."
Jay was her first significant partner, and the two spent the majority of their time in their bedroom and kept to themselves.
Detective Kelli Braate of the GRPD noted in her report, "What we were gathering was that most did not care (for) Jay and did not speak to him often."
The family disclosed that Jay did not work, was not on Facebook, did not have any known relatives, and they did not have a phone number for him, only that he had been to jail for failure to pay child support.
It was one of Jay's previous jail stints that eventually exposed his actual identity. "While searching Cherletta's closet, I observed an orange Nike shoebox on the uppermost shelf in the closet," wrote Detective Amanda Johnson.
"As I began to go through the items (in the box), I found some old 'jail mail' letters to Cherletta from a man named Derrell Brown. I read a few of the letters and in one of them Derrell tells Cherletta that his name is Derrell, but he goes by Jay, and all of the letters were signed “Jay.'"
The Stolen Gun Used to Kill Keyona Griffin and Cherletta Barber-Bey
The stolen gun used to murder Cherletta Barber-Bey and Keyona Griffin.
During a search of an alley located northwest of 553 Sheldon several hours after the murders, a detective captain noticed a hastily discarded box of ammunition.
"There on the ground next to the very 'fresh' box of ammunition was a white plastic bag, with what appeared to be the muzzle of a gun sticking out and visible," wrote Capt. Kristin Rogers in her follow-up report.
Tests subsequently matched the 9 mm Hi-Point pistol to casings recovered at the crime scene, according to another detective's account.
Detectives also stated that while searching Cherletta Baber-Bey's bedroom, officers discovered an empty Hi-Point gun box in a dresser containing men's clothing.
Police found the gun's serial number and purchase permit inside the cardboard box, which included the name of the pistol's purchaser, a woman that Jay had previously dated.
When officers ran the name and serial number through their database, they found two significant pieces of information.
Firstly, the woman who was listed as the purchaser of the gun had reported it stolen in July 2017. Police discovered that the same woman had filed a complaint in 2018 regarding harassing text messages she had been receiving.
"In that report, (she) complains that her ex-boyfriend, known as 'Jay,' had been harassing her by cell phone," wrote GRPD Detective Sgt. John Purlee. Interestingly, the police report noted that the woman's gun was stolen around the same time she was dating "Jay."
Purlee's report concluded that this information established a link between Derrell Demon Brown and the Hi-Point pistol found at the crime scene. The woman had reported that "Jay" was very "commanding" during their relationship.
Derrell “Jay” Brown Disappears
Wanted: Derrell “Jay” Brown. Photo: US Marshalls.
As per the police report, in the aftermath of the killing of Keyona Griffin and Cherletta Barber-Bey, officers searched the surrounding area for security cameras and uncovered several videos showing Brown's movements that day.
Even as detectives combed through 553 Sheldon for evidence, cameras recorded Brown on foot, a mile north of the crime scene, two hours after the bodies had been found.
During his post-murder travels, Brown stopped at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum on Sheldon at Fulton Street.
The museum's interior cameras captured Brown entering the building at 3:24 p.m. on the day of the murders and leaving 12 minutes later at 3:36 p.m.
According to an employee, Brown informed the front desk that he knew someone inside the museum. Nevertheless, the museum staff made it clear to Brown that he was not permitted to wander the premises.
Approximately 20 minutes after leaving the Children's Museum, a nearby business's surveillance camera filmed Brown walking in the area of Leonard Street and Turner Avenue NW. Police later discovered that one of Brown's former girlfriends had dropped him off in that neighborhood.
After that, it appears that Derrell Brown disappeared. The police are still looking for him to this day.
If you see Derrell Brown contact the police immediately.
More True Crime:
Lamora Williams Kills Her Children and Puts them in the Oven
