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in: Colorado, 1999, Murder,
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Malaika Griffin

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Malaika griffin

Malaika Griffin

Real Name: Malaika Tamu Griffin
Aliases: Lake Griffin
Wanted For: Murder
Missing Since: May 19, 1999

Case[]

Details: Twenty-five-year-old carpenter Jason Horsley moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1996, looking for the diversity he couldn't find in his hometown of Sheridan, Wyoming. He and his fiancee, Deborah Loiselle, bought a former crack house in the diverse City Park West neighborhood and spent many hours and thousands of dollars remolding it. Deborah felt that moving to Denver was a dream come true for them. However, that changed when she met their next-door neighbor, Malaika Griffin, soon after moving in. Griffin became angry with her, threatening to kill her dogs and yelling several racial slurs (Jason and Deborah were Caucasian, while Malaika was African-American).
Over the next few months, Griffin had several confrontations with Jason and Deborah. Although she didn't own a car, she had several issues with people parking in front of her house. She also complained to Jason about unloading his carpentry tools onto the sidewalk in front of her house. On another occasion, she argued with him about putting his ladder on her property, even though the landlord said it was okay. None of the arguments made sense to him and Deborah because they had never trespassed on her property.

Jasonhorsley

Jason Horsley

Then, on May 19, 1999, Jason returned home from work and began unloading his tools on the sidewalk in front of Griffin's house when she came out and began screaming at him. Deborah said that when she went outside to see what was going on, Griffin threatened her, and they both stormed back into their houses. Jason continued to unload his tools when Griffin came back to his truck with a 9mm pistol and allegedly shot him in the back at point-blank range. The bullet pierced his heart; Deborah found him slumped over in his truck, unconscious and bleeding profusely. He passed away a short time after arriving at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Griffin arrived at a friend's house and stole her car at gunpoint. It was found abandoned in Iowa two days later. Police searched Griffin's room and found several racist literature and anarchist Internet material as well as ammunition, hand grenades, and a 9mm pistol. They also found her secret journals about an upcoming race war and the murder of white people. Surprisingly, none of her friends had ever heard her talk about the racial rhetoric mentioned in her writings.
According to police, an Iowa man claimed that Griffin had confessed to him that she had killed a man in Colorado. He drove her to a bus station where she boarded one to Chicago. Her mother claims to have spoken to her over the phone, and that she told her that she was wanted for a Colorado murder and that she was in Chicago. She has not been heard from since and is wanted for Jason's murder.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the August 22, 2001 episode.
  • It was also profiled on America's Most Wanted during the investigation and it was documented on Snapped, Deadly Women, and Vengeance: Killer Neighbors after it was resolved.

Results: Captured. On June 4, 2005, after this case was profiled on America's Most Wanted, a tip led the FBI to arrest Griffin in El Cajon, California. She had been working at a biotechnology firm under an assumed name. She was found guilty of Jason's murder, along with robbery and vehicle theft. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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