DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – A Georgia man is facing murder charges after police said he fatally stabbed a beloved Atlanta pastor before setting fire to her body, which he reportedly abandoned in a vehicle several miles from his home.
Rev. Marita Harrell, 57, a senior pastor at Connections at Metropolitan United Methodist Church, was discovered Wednesday along a secluded road outside Lithonia, DeKalb County, and a manhunt for her killer has concluded, police spokesman Lt. Shane Smith said Friday, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The suspect has been identified as Christopher Griggs, 27, who was being mentored and counseled by Harrell.
Officers arrived in the 1600 block of Coffee Road Wednesday about 10:25 p.m. They found the burned-out van belonging to Marita Harrell. Inside, investigators said was the body of the 57-year-old pastor, dead from apparent stab wounds, DeKalb County Police said.
Investigators believe Harrell was killed at a residence along Panola Road before being transported and dumped with her van at the site.
Police used phone records to backtrack Harrell’s steps. Further investigation revealed the pastor had been mentoring and counseling Griggs at the home the same night she was discovered dead, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
A SWAT team and investigators served a search warrant at a home, which is about five miles from where Harrell’s body was located.
Police said they found what is believed to be the crime scene where the deadly stabbing occurred. Investigators spent Thursday evening combing through the home for evidence and speaking to relatives who live with Griggs at the residence, although he was not present.
Law enforcement authorities contacted Griggs earlier in the day by phone. He told police he would surrender, but failed to appear at the arranged time.
Hence, a manhunt ensued and police located Griggs at an unspecified location and took him into custody.
Church leaders and police said Harrell, a wife and mother of two, was simply trying to help her accused killer when she lost her life, AJC reported.
“She was passionate about what she did, which was helping those who are lost and left out,” said the Rev. Dr. Michael T. McQueen, UMC’s district superintendent over its Fulton and Clayton County churches. “She was doing what she loved to do. That’s what makes this so tragic.”
Griggs was charged with murder and arson, and subsequently booked at the DeKalb County Jail.
