A manhunt for the man accused of murdering a Georgia Pastor and then burning and abandoning her body inside a van along a narrow, rural roadway has ended after investigators apprehended him on Friday.
At around 10:25 p.m. on Wednesday, DeKalb County police officers responded to the 1600 block of Coffee Road and discovered the van belonging to Marita Harrell. Inside the van, according to investigators, was the body of the 57-year-old pastor, dead from apparent stab wounds.
Detectives believe Harrell’s body was dumped there after being killed at a home along Panola Road. Investigators said they used phone records to backtrack Harrell’s steps and found out the reverend had been mentoring and counseling 27-year-old Christopher Griggs at the home the same night she was found dead. Turned out Griggs allegedly killed the person who was trying to help him.
A SWAT team executed a search warrant on a home, which is about five miles from where Rev. Harrell’s body was found. Investigators said they did not find the suspect inside the home. However, they said they found what is believed to be the scene of the deadly stabbing. Investigators spent Thursday evening scouring the home for evidence and speaking to relatives who live with the suspect in the home.
Police said they spoke with the suspect earlier in the day by phone. He told officers he would surrender to authorities, but he never showed up at the arranged time.
After a search, officers located and apprehended Griggs on Friday. He’s now in the DeKalb County Jail on murder and arson charges.
Griggs had a run-in with DeKalb County police in the past. In October 2020, Christopher Griggs was arrested for sexual assault and impersonating a police officer. Griggs, who is not an officer, wore tactical gear, and a badge and had a firearm when he assaulted a victim, DeKalb County police said at the time.
Harrell was the senior pastor at Connections at Metropolitan UMC, according to the church’s website. A native of Chicago, she has spent the last three decades in metro Atlanta after earning a degree at Emory University.
