2nd body found in Leicester home of man charged with concealing another death
ASHEVILLE — The same week a Leicester man was charged with concealing or failing to report a death on Dec. 15, another body was found at his home from an overdose.
On Dec. 12, a 61-year-old male family member of Craig Ross Griffin was discovered dead from an overdose at 59 Israel Road, where Griffin resides, according to sheriff spokesperson Aaron Sarver.
“(Griffin) is not facing any (additional) charges because that is not a suspicious death,” Sarver said.
Griffin, 57, was arrested Dec. 15 and charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, possession of a weapon of mass destruction and concealing or failing to report a death, as previously reported by the Citizen Times.
Having notified next of kin, the sheriff’s office released the name of the 41-year-old female, Jenny Marie Grant, whom deputies found dead in a van at 51 Indian Hills Drive in Leicester following the execution of a search warrant, according to Sarver. This discovery led to Griffin’s charge of concealing a death.
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“The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office does not release names of deceased in overdose deaths, but we are complying with a public records request in this instance,” Sarver said.
Sarver said Grant and Griffin knew each other as acquaintances or friends but were not blood related or in a dating relationship.
Grant was born in Asheville and lived in Leicester, according to her online obituary. She is survived by her parents, brother and four children. Her occupation was listed as a homemaker on her death certificate obtained by the Citizen Times, and her cause of death is still listed as "pending."
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Griffin’s arrest warrant also reveals more details into what the “weapon of mass destruction” was that he possessed, namely a “pipe bomb filled with nails and metallic balls.”
The explosive homemade device was detonated at the scene by the Asheville Police Department’s and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb squads, as previously reported by the Citizen Times.
Griffin remains in the Buncombe County Detention Facility, but his bond has been raised from $65,000 to $105,000, according to an online jail database. His next court date is Jan. 8.
His attorney, Michael Casterline, confirmed that a couple of days after Griffin's first appearance, Assistant District Attorney Katie Kurdys asked for his bond to be increased in a bond hearing "and the judge increased it over our objection."
Casterline declined to comment further on the case at this time.
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Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 2nd body found in Leicester home of man charged with concealing death
