He was shot dead by his father in law. The SBI should investigate.

A trial begins Monday that reveals a troubling loophole in state law.

After a capital crime, the only two people who can request an independent, state investigation are the sheriff and the district attorney. No one else — not a judge, not another district attorney, not a member of Congress, not the state attorney general — can involve the State Bureau of Investigation except the sheriff and DA of the county where the crime took place.

This loophole should concern all of us. But it has made life hell for one family in Harnett County.

On Oct. 12, 2013, Dolly and Tony Griggs learned that their son, Christian, had been killed. His own father-in-law, a local pastor, confessed to shooting Christian six times while the 23-year old Army veteran was standing on his porch in Angier.

Christian’s father-in-law claimed he shot in self-defense. He said Christian was trying to break in. The case was closed that same day with Christian’s father-in-law, the shooter, listed as the ‘victim’ on the official report. The News & Observer reported on the case in 2014 and WRAL has investigated recently.

Despite repeated pleas from Christian’s parents, the district attorney refused to ask the State Bureau of Investigation to undertake an independent investigation. More than a year later, Dolly and Tony filed a wrongful death civil suit and started talking to reporters.

I’m no longer in the news business but I spent 10 years as ABC11’s lead investigative reporter. Our station covered this story as did others and every story ended the same way: no comment from law enforcement; no comment from the DA’s office; and no comment from the man who pulled the trigger.

A few months ago, Dolly and Tony Griggs hired me to help. They wanted to make sure they weren’t missing anything and asked if I would reach out to my old contacts to try to jump start a new investigation.

I went to the courthouse in Lillington, got what records I could in the Griggs’ wrongful death civil suit and researched the case. It just didn’t square. Court documents show critical questions weren’t asked or answered:

● The case was closed in less than 24 hours without any significant investigative work being done.

● Law enforcement accepted a claim of self-defense when there were no other surviving witnesses.

● Christian was shot six times but only three shell casings were found, piled neatly beside the couch.

● Christian’s father-in-law said he fired all six shots from inside while Christian was on the porch outside but there were no bullet holes in the curtains, shutters or window frame.

● The Medical Examiner’s report says Christian was shot four times in the back, likely either lying face down or crawling on his hands and knees.

I showed the case to multiple lawyers, sat down with former contacts in the SBI, talked it over with other district attorneys, and met with state Attorney General Josh Stein.

Each of them was sympathetic to the Griggs’ experience and agreed that there is a bigger problem here. But not one felt it was within their jurisdiction to help.

I spent every day of my 20-year reporting career seeking truth. Everything about this tells me we still don’t know what happened that October morning. Even more clear is this: that won’t change unless the SBI gets involved.

It’s imperative that Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats or District Attorney Vernon Stewart request an independent SBI investigation. The Griggs’ haven’t seen their grand-daughter since the shooting. They haven’t had one restful night’s sleep.

Whether a terrible wrong was done in Harnett County does matter. It matters in the wrongful death suit gets underway Monday; it matters deeply to the Griggs; and it should matter to the rest of us. It could happen to any of our families at any time because of this problem with state law.

Let’s work to change that. Tell your lawmakers to close this dangerous loophole and tell the sheriff and DA in Harnett County to request an SBI investigation into the killing of Christian Griggs.

Justice deserves an honest shot in North Carolina.

This story was originally published November 30, 2018 at 3:30 PM.