Investigators: Woman confessed to killing husband

By S. BRADY CALHOUN / News Herald Writer
FOUNTAIN — Local investigators said they spent their Saturday chipping away at the inconsistencies in a local woman’s story until she confessed to murder.

About 4:30 a.m. Saturday, deputies were called to 16609 Rollohome Road where Brian Griffin had been killed with a .22 rifle. Griffin’s wife, Sabrina Griffin, 32, told deputies the couple had been arguing throughout the night.

She originally told investigators a large family dog knocked over the .22 and it went off, hitting her husband in the chest, officials said. But when confronted with the implausibility of that chain of events, Griffin changed her story, saying she did pick the gun up and it accidentally discharged, hitting Brian Griffin in the chest, investigators said. She added that she did not know the gun was loaded.

Brian Griffin was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The problem with this case is that there were only two people there and now one of them can’t give their version of what happened,” Capt. Jimmy Stanford said. He added that there had been no previous incidents of domestic trouble at the Griffin home.

However, the story changed yet again Saturday. Sabrina Griffin told investigators the couple had been fighting because Brian Griffin was having an affair. Then, she said she shot him in self-defense because he was attacking her. However, Sabrina Griffin had no injuries and there were no other signs she had been attacked, investigators said.

That final lie was enough for investigators to arrest Sabrina Griffin and charge her with an open count of murder, Stanford said. He also praised the tenacity of the investigators and crime scene technicians involved saying their willingness to stick with the case made a huge difference in the outcome.

The State Attorney’s Office and the Medical Examiner’s Office also are involved in the investigation, officials wrote in a news release.