Sunday, October 24, 2010

Henrico, VA: Homicide case advances against Henrico woman

By BILL MCKELWAY | TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: October 20, 2010

A domestic-violence call handled Aug. 11 by Henrico County police officer R.J. Clemons turned into a murder case as Clemons arrived on the scene and radio traffic turned to reports of gunfire.

Moments later, Clemons testified yesterday, he watched Felicia M. Grahn emerge from her home near Richmond International Raceway, her arms raised above her head as Clemons unholstered his weapon.

"She put her hands up and I asked her, 'Where's the shooter?'" Clemons testified yesterday.

Grahn answered: "I shot her," Clemons said.

A second-degree murder charge against Grahn, 40, was certified yesterday to a Henrico grand jury. Indications are that defense lawyer John Goots may argue that Grahn killed Dollie Blow, 45, in self-defense.

He drew from investigators yesterday that after being taken into custody, Grahn said Blow had attacked her from behind by surprise. It was unclear whether Blow had a weapon. Investigators said that immediately after the shooting, Grahn showed no physical evidence of having been beaten or attacked.

When help arrived at Grahn's home, Clemons made his way to an 11-by-8-foot wooden outbuilding behind the house on Genacre Lane, he testified yesterday.

He peered in the door and saw two toddlers sitting wide-eyed on a bed and staring toward the bathroom, where the officer found Blow dead in a pool of blood.

She had been shot four times with a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol: to the head, arm, stomach and upper right thigh.

The stunned children -- Blow's grandchildren -- had witnessed her death and apparently sat rigidly still inside the simply outfitted shed until police arrived. Blow had lived in the building for several years with her boyfriend, who was in business with Grahn's husband. Testimony yesterday showed that Grahn may have been planning to evict Blow.

Days before the shooting, Grahn's husband had taken out a protective order against his wife.

He alleged that his wife had slapped him, threatened him with a gun she had hidden and was taking drugs, according to court records.

"I was afraid," he said in an interview after his wife's arrest, professing that he still loved her and that she had been acting strangely.

Grahn was ordered not to have contact with her husband or Blow.

Henrico General District Court Judge James S. Yoffy yesterday found Grahn guilty of violating the protective order, a misdemeanor.

A trial on the murder charge is expected early next year.

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