Snapped: Women Who Murder - Deidra Griffin

Episode Date: October 16, 2022

Police are baffled when the body of a Baltimore man is found rotting in his garage. Detectives turn to advanced law enforcement technology, to try and track down the killer.Season 24, Episode 22Originally aired: January 27, 2019Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wonder East Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. They were two successful self-starters who eventually found one another. They had so much in common, seemed like the perfect match. The relationship blossomed, she found that she was pregnant, and she was overjoyed.

But was the couple destined for a happily ever after? Or would a brazen attack leave their lives shattered? It gives them the garage and he never comes back at it. What follows will not only test the bonds of love, but will race the question, could this tough-minded businessman have set his own murder in motion? Or had death been lying in weight all along.

Make good money, but he didn't pay the best. And sometimes, you know, some of them get a lot of angry. It's nothing I've ever experienced, and hopefully never will again. You told me they threatened me. Every officer we talk to was like, this is something I'll never forget. You're looking at me, you see? Oh my gosh, this guy has no idea what's about to happen. The way they're about like that, nobody at all. July 1st, 2015. With the Fourth of July mere days away, most residents of Baltimore, Maryland,

are gearing up for local festivities. But for Wanda Gresham, the coming holiday isn't the most pressing matter at hand. She hadn't heard from her boyfriend, Lonnie Pay, and they were supposed to be getting together and she hadn't seen him since June 19th. She has been calling him, texting him, going by his house every other day and became concerned enough that she actually called the police. Just before 8 o'clock PM, officers from the Baltimore and became concerned enough that she actually called the police.

Just before 8 o'clock PM, officers from the Baltimore County Police Department rushed to Lonnie's home to conduct a welfare check. We don't get very many calls for service. Back there, you say these are half a million dollar homes when they got to the location, the front door was locked. Unable to reach anyone inside Lonnie's home, they attempt to gain entry through the garage. One of his vehicles outside in the driveway was unlocked, so police were able to press a button

to open the garage door. As the door opens, a pungent odor washes over police. Every officer we talk to was like, this is something I'll never forget. That's smell. As officers inch forward, they soon discover the source of the stench. They located a decomposing body.

Officers pull a wallet from a pants pocket and confirm what they already suspect. The decaying body is that of Wanda's 51-year-old boyfriend, Lonnie Paye. Lonnie is lying between his two cars, and his body is literally covered with maggots. Based on what they observe, he had been dead for at least a week. As detectives converge on the scene,

the horrific sight presents an array of questions, one more troubling than the next. Their trying to understand what has happened had he succumbed to a medical emergency like the ability to call for help? Or was he the victim of a malicious attack? When we started the body, we were going to weigh up. There were several showcasing around this body.

He was shot several times. Lani Paye was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1963. Growing up on his grandparents' farm with siblings Leon and Charles, the three brothers led an active life. It was fun, but it was hard work. It's like we're corn, doing chores like that, but it made us learn how to survive and take care of itself. As Lonnie grew older, it was that hard working upbringing that helped him earn a lucrative living.

He had his own construction business where he had staff and folks working up under him. And was able to save up a good bit of money by a really nice home in the Randall's town suburb. He loved to go to work. I mean, this guy was up at 4 o'clock in the morning, getting his day ready for what he's going to do. Lonnie's long hours on the job left little time

for anything else. He was married twice and also divorced. He didn't quite make the time that was needed to be the present husband. He told me he wasn't going to get married again. While taking up matrimony again appeared unlikely, Lonnie still showed a healthy interest in dating. Online was his preferred method to meet women,

and around 2012 was when he met Deedra Griffith. Growing up in Bay City, Michigan, Dejra kept to herself and was encouraged to concentrate on school by her two doting parents. She was not real outgoing, not a lot of friends. She was spoiled a little bit. She got more or less what she wanted. After graduating high school, Dejra joined the Army Reserve

before continuing her education in biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State. Then, in 2007, Deidre's hard work paid off when she landed a prestigious job at the University of Maryland. She really excelled in her role in healthcare administration and didn't devote as much time in her early years to her social life. The older that Deedra got, she realized, hey, maybe it's time that I make room for her family. It was then, in her late 30s, that Deedra jumped into the world of online dating and made a love connection with Lonnie Pay.

She just liked everything about him that he had a good business at a nice house, nice time. They made a perfect little cute couple, they really did. She had moved in with Lonnie and they would go out and they would go to dinners and everything. And Deidre really fell in love with him. In May of 2014, the couple's relationship took an unexpected turn when Diedra

made a surprise discovery. Diedra had endurometriosis. And Dr. Atolder, you will never get pregnant with all this. So she went and had the operations. She was pregnant in three months. And while the news thrilled Diedra, Lonnie initially wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. He didn't want no kids.

I know that for a fact. At 51, you know, like, kid now, she didn't want to be tied down like that. They got in a big argument, and she literally threw some stuff in the car and drove back to Michigan and said, well, he'd want nothing to do with me or the baby. With Diedra back in Bay City,

Lonnie moved on with his life. Then, to everyone's surprise, he began to have a change of heart about fatherhood. His family is convinced in that, hey, you don't necessarily have to have a committed of heart about fatherhood. His family is convinced in that, hey, you don't necessarily have to have a committed long-term relationship with Deedra, but you should make an investment in having relationship with your child.

And so he does kind of turn a new leaf and fly to Michigan. In August of 2014, with Lonnie in attendance at the hospital, Diedra gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Being there for the birth of his son as whole world turns upside down once he meets his new baby. He loved his son. His baby looks just like him.

There's a kid and to see himself in an image of this child, that's what changed him. With Lonnie on board for parenthood, Deedra's dream of them being a happy family was once again ignited. I think there was a glimmer of hope there for Deedra that he would come and say, I'm taking you, I'm taking the baby,

we're gonna live in the house, we're gonna have a wonderful life. Deedra made at least two trips from Michigan to Maryland taking the baby, we're gonna live in the house, we're gonna have a wonderful life. Diedra made at least two trips from Michigan to Maryland with the baby, so that Lonnie could be a part of his son's life. She really wanted to see if they could reestablish the love and the relationship that they once had. Only after a few months together,

they both realized that the spark between them had passed. It becomes clear to Deidra that Lonnie doesn't want anything to do with her on a relationship level. He only wants a child. He just fell out of love. He just didn't want her anymore. He moved on. With any hope of reconciliation gone, Deidra retreated to Michigan and focused on raising her baby.

Lonnie, meanwhile, remained in Maryland and ventured back into the dating scene. He had established a relationship with a woman named Wanda, coincidentally also meeting her on the same website that he had met with Diedra. They started up seeing each other pretty regularly. I think they had even taken a trip together. They started up seeing each other pretty regularly.

I think they had even taken a trip together. So this was becoming a very serious relationship. It appeared that in Wanda, Lonnie may have finally found his one true love. Then came the horrific discovery inside Lonnie's garage on July 1, 2015. He's in the heights, you know, in the advanced state of decomposition. There were numerous showcasing.

Going towards the front of the garage, what it indicated to me was that he was probably almost in this house when he was shot several times. Coming up, a motive surfaces that casts a suspicious eye on Lonnie's untimely demise. This thing is so big, it was so heated. The victim was telling everybody about it. And does the person closest to Lonnie have the most to hide? This is a person who had the knowledge of the house,

the knowledge of Lonnie's Coming and Goings. And the last one to be able to say she saw him alive. In June of 2015, 51-year-old Lonnie Pay was celebrating some major changes in his life. Chief among them, becoming a new dad. His face was shining. You know that's the moment when they hit the lottery. That's the look on his face. Although the relationship with the child's mother, Deedra Griffin, didn't work out,

Lonnie had a new love in his life. Juan de Gresham was the girlfriend of Lonnie Pay. There was a new budding relationship, everything seemed to be going well. Then Lonnie's decomposed body was found in his garage on July 1, 2015. There was a pretty gruesome site Lonnie had been in the garage for about 10 days and was in a pretty serious state of decomposition. There was no weapon at the scene, but there were a number of shell casings on the garage floor, which led to the obvious conclusion of that he was shot.

Given Lonnie's wealth, detectives initially theorize that Lonnie may have stumbled upon a burglary in progress. Yet the more investigators study the scene, the more that theory begins to crumble. Everything seemed to be in this proper place, didn't seem to be as if anything were missing. So it didn't appear to be a burglary or something that somebody unknown was in there trying to steal something and then shot him. Something more was going on there.

Outside the house, detectives make what could be a crucial discovery. Lonnie had fitted the home with security cameras. We noticed the camera. At the front door, we also noticed the camera in front of the garage. Then in a downstairs basement office, they did find a DVR, which was recording surveillance video.

The DVR is transported back to the crime lab to be downloaded by crime lab technicians. Meanwhile, police turned their attention to Lonnie's girlfriend, Wanda Gresham. You don't know who's the suspect who's not. So we respond to Lonnie's house. She's told that he had passed. She was visibly upset about it.

According to Wanda, Lonnie had been planning to go to Michigan to see his young son a week earlier. She told us that the Charles Moller was deejogripping and that he was supposed to pick up his son on June the 24th. And then go back to Michigan on the 30th, so he could give us some back to his mom. Investigators asked Wanda when she last saw her boyfriend. She said she spent the night on June 18th. Their plans for the weekend, she told investigators,

was to a group purchase a crib for Lonnie's son, and other essentials needed for caring for a toddler for the next five days. She said she left the victim and went to work, and they actually had planned to meet up later. But she said when she didn't hear from them, she just assumed he just didn't want to meet. And she says he was a perfectionist.

He cut his grants every week. So when she came by on July 1st, and she realized his grants had grown way higher than what he would have ever allow it. She says I knew right then something was wrong. While Wanda's story sounds credible, detectives know they need to tread carefully. For all they know, Wanda could be lying to them.

This is a person who had the knowledge of the house, the knowledge of Lonnie's coming and goings. The last one to be able to say she saw him alive. While law enforcement looks into Wanda's alibi, Detective Ryan Massey faces the grim task of informing Lonnie's family of his death. The victim's mother had passed previously. His father was working, and we gave him information that his son had passed, and that it was a homicide,

and we were trying to figure out what happened. They got a call from a dad. He just came showing seven. He said, he did. And I said, huh, what? That's the spot what you say. And he said, your brother is dead. And I said, who shot him?

We all know you need to be down there. So I went to the house. It was awful. Once the family has had time to collect themselves, detectives press forward. Investigators ask if there's any one they can think of that Lonnie might have had bad blood with. Did he have any recent run-ins with someone personally

or professionally? I told detectives Lonnie used to hire guys in the city. They're not, you know, she'd make good money, but to hire guys in the city. They helped them out, you know, cheap labor, made good money. But he didn't pay the best. And sometimes, you know, some of them get a little angry, some of them didn't know you got money. They can come in, you know, hit us to keep up.

That's what we figured happened at first. His family also offers up another possibility for Lonnie's demise. And this one holds a deep personal connection. Investigators learned that Lonnie had been in a custody battle with his former girlfriend, Deirdre Griffin, over their newborn son. According to family members, it all began shortly

after Lonnie and Diedra had broken off their relationship for the last time in February 2015. Lonnie said, I don't want you to want a relationship with my son. And that's when she was saying, you know, I don't know what he's thinking, but this is a package deal. It was almost a month. He hadn't seen his son. He's calling, asking her, you want to bring the baby?

You'll bring the baby, and she never bought him. You don't bring the baby, you don't bring the baby, and she never bought them. Family members say by March, Lonnie felt like he had no choice, but to hire a lawyer and to take legal action. He didn't want custody of his son. He just wanted to see him. We just needed sort of a general establishment

of custody and parenting time, nothing out of the ordinary. She never thought he would get any kind of custody. I said, Dija, this is not 1970. Men have April rights now when it comes to children. On June 9th, the presiding judge delivered his ruling. The judge sort of put his foot down and said, this man deserves time with his child and that's what we're going to do.

Lonnie was granted visitation with his son for five days out of the month. According to those who witnessed the proceedings, the decision was a major punch to the stomach for D-Dra. When she came home from that court hearing, she was beside herself. She was convinced that somehow, Lonnie had paid off the judge.

She thought somehow something sinister was going on. Deidre had concerns, but the concerns didn't go farther than any new mother would have. She felt that he didn't know how to handle the baby. He didn't know how to feed the baby. He had none of the baby equipment that you need. How does he think? He can possibly take this baby for five days.

In the end, though, Dijro was left with no choice but to comply with the judge's orders. She agreed to meet Lonnie at a local police station at the end of June to turn over their son. The courts had ordered Lonnie would be able to take the baby from Michigan back to Maryland. And on the date that the handoff was supposed to take place, Disha brings the baby to the location and waits.

And Lonnie never appeared. For detectives, it's clear why Lonnie had never showed up. Someone had shot and killed him in his garage. Coming up, detectives consider the possibility that Diedra killed Lonnie to prevent him from being alone with their son. Every couple has their issues, but no one ever anticipates that one party is going to murder another. But is there anyone else out there who has a motive to kill Lonnie? Lonnie called me and told me this guy was threatening him.

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It's been 48 hours since police discovered the decomposing body of 51-year-old home contractor Lonnie Paye inside his Maryland garage. During that time, relatives have alerted investigators to a possible suspect. Lonnie's ex-girlfriend, Deidre Griffin. Lonnie's father, I think the word he used, was a nasty custody battle with Deidre Griffin. And that certainly peaked investigators' interests. This custody thing was so heated, we have to run that out

until we can disprove it. And then you try to pick up another angle. At 2 p.m. on July 4th, detectives make a surprise visit to Deedra's home in Michigan. We just flew to Michigan and hooked up with the big county sheriff's office, and they assisted us while we were in Michigan. We just showed up our house on the 4th of July. They were having a cookout.

People were instantly wondering what is going on. Detectives first may contact with Deedra's mother and learn that both she and Deedra had recently been notified of Lonnie's death. Deedra got a call from Lonnie's stepmom that he had passed away, that it was a homicide, that he had been shot. Investigators then asked Deedra to accompany them

to the local police station for an interview. When we told her we would bring her back to the cook out, told her we wouldn't take long. She seemed surprised. She was cropping. She said, I'll come down, I'll come talk to you. And she didn't. She rode down with us.

Seated in an interview room, detectives begin to pepper D-Dra for information about Lonnie. We just wanted to get some background about their relationship, how they met, why she was back in Michigan, because she lived in Maryland for a period of time, and what the dynamics was, and more importantly, to find out her alibi for the 19.

D-Dra explained that the relationship was basically over. She did say that she had lived at Lonnie Pays' home for a few weeks during their Fourier relationship and did have a key to the home. But that after the birth of her son, she gave it back to him and she no longer had a key to his Baltimore towny home.

Detectives also asked Diedra about the recent court battle with Lonnie. She informed us that they had gotten to a point that it was so contentious that they could only communicate through the attorneys. She didn't hide that there was a nasty custody dispute. She was very forthcoming. As the interview continues, Diedra drops an unexpected piece of information. We learned that Ms. Griffin traveled back to Baltimore for job interview to work for She continues, Deidre drops an unexpected piece of information. We learned to miss Griffin, traveled back to Baltimore for job interview to work for

Johns Hopkins. She explained that she arrived at BWI Airport. She rented a car at the airport. She had the interview and returned to Michigan the next day on the 17th. She was very clear that she was in Michigan from the 17th on, up through July 4th. With the interview completed, detectives returned to Baltimore to look into Diedra's alibi. But first, they're briefed by their colleagues,

who are wrapping up their investigation into Lonnie's most recent girlfriend, Wanda Gresham. The gap was that Wanda didn't have anything to do with it. Why else would she call the police why else? Would she stick around when the police showed up? Why would she be calling and trying to figure out what's going on with the investigation? She wasn't being weird or cagey.

She was very upfront about her plans, what was going on. She was very helpful. She went up the headquarters and did numerous interviews. She was very quickly. She went up the headquarters and did numerous interviews. She was very quickly ruled out as a suspect given her level of cooperation with the police. Police also follow up on the theory that Lonnie's death might be connected to his job. We looked into his business practices, who had he done and worked for recently. His business practices were fine, nothing happened while he was at work.

That was of significance that would have lent to him being killed in this garage. With no suspicious business dealings and Wanda ruled out, police begin to dig more into Deedra Griffin's story. When you hit the ground run and try to verify where she went for this job interview, where she stayed at the hotel, how she paid for it, what kind of rental car she used while she was here.

All those things are coming into play to verify her story. Investigators also continue to learn more about Diedra and Lonnie's relationship. It's in a conversation with Lonnie's brother Charles that a new person of interest emerges. Deidre's brother, Donnie. He was definitely in the thought process because we were told that he had a heated conversation over the phone with Donnie. Lonnie told me that they were arguing

him and the brother threatening him. Lonnie's brother tells detectives that he is unsure of all the details that prompted the confrontation. Lonnie and Disha was arguing about something and she told her brother, so he threatened Lonnie. Is this merely a case of Donnie standing up for his sister on a phone call?

Or could it have escalated to something more? Charles says that at the time he warned Lonnie to be careful. I made it watch your back, you know what I'm saying? People say things, man, you got to think about people saying, because sometimes you could do it. And maybe that's the last thing a month later, if he was dead. With no way of knowing the validity of Charles' claims, detectives make plans to question Deidre's brother about the alleged confrontation.

As detectives work to find Donnie, they learn that technicians have successfully downloaded the video footage from Lonnie's home security cameras. We were pretty excited. I don't have to assume what happened. I can see what happened. The camera's the eyes for you to assume what happened. I can see what happened. The camera's the eyes for you. You get to see what happened leading up to his death.

So we're sitting there. We're watching the video. The surveillance video from Lonnie Pays Home shows his girlfriend Juan de Gresham leaving the home at about 6'45 in the morning, on June 19th. About 15, 20 minutes later, you see Lonnie pay, eggs to home, get into his car, and leave. Then we see on the surveillance footage at 145

that afternoon, somebody walks up to the victim's front door. They enter the residence, looks like with the key. You see that person enter in the afternoon while everybody is gone. The inner location is if they know that nobody's home, they don't seem to be worried about anybody else. while everybody is gone. The interlocation is if they know that nobody's home, they don't seem to be worried about anybody else. Being at the location, maybe they knew the victims' work habits,

how far away he works, how long he's going to be, and what time he returns for more. For the next several hours, no one enters or exits the home until approximately 4.45 pm when Lonnie returns home from work with the unknown intruder still inside. He exits the vehicle and leaves it in the driveway. He goes to his mailbox. He obtains the mail and then he walks into his garage.

You're looking and you see, oh, my gosh, this guy has no idea what's about to happen. Oh, my gosh, this guy has no idea what's about to happen. Coming up, investigators reconstruct Lonnie's final moments, and can police identify his mysterious assailant. The video shows everything. He's in that house with that person and never exits again. Not long as he alive, we're in that garage suffering. Or nobody knows where he is.

It's just awful. MUSIC In the summer of 2015, Lonnie Pays' decomposing body was found in the garage of his home in Baltimore, Maryland. He was shot four times a week, one time in particular to his head. Investigators are zeroed in on two people who they want to interview.

Deidre Griffin and separately, Deidre's brother, Donnie, who Lonnie's brother claims threatened Lonnie. I don't know what happened between them to cause the argument, but whatever it was, it was a situation where it had got very deep. Now, detectives are studying surveillance footage from the day of the murder. The video shows Lonnie entering his home at approximately 4.45pm. Minutes later, the unknown intruder exits the house. shows Lonnie entering his home at approximately 4.45 pm.

Minutes later, the unknown intruder exits the house. You can't really see the face, but this time they exit. They're carrying a bag and a glove on the left hand. They have a big floppy head on. To me, it looked like they were trying to disguise themselves. There's surveillance video helped investigators determine that he was most likely killed around 5 p.m. on June 19, 2015. We see Lonnie come home, and then only about five minutes later,

you see the intruder at leave. Armed with the time and day of Lonnie's death, investigators can compare the information to the alibis of Dejiffin and her brother, Donnie. So, talk to him, Donnie. He told us, man, he was at work on the 19th, and we were able to verify it. We basically ruled Donnie out pretty quickly

and moved him to Miss Griffin. On the July 4th interview that the police had with her, she told detectives that she was, in fact, in Baltimore for an interview for a Johns Hopkins job, from June 16th to the 17th. From what detectives learn in coming days, that story appears to be true. We verified through Southwest,

and yes, she flew out on the 16th, got here, and she left on the 17th, and she flew back to Michigan. At this point, Deedra's story is holding up. Got here, and she left on a 17, and she flew back to Michigan. At this point, Deidre's story is holding up. Still, something isn't adding up for detectives. Their next stop is the car rental company that Deidre had allegedly used on her trip. She'd rented a car at BWI Airport.

The police were able to go to that business and find the contract that she signed for renting that car. They gave me the vehicle she had. It was a Jeep Cherokee. And when I was talking to him, he remembered something stuck out when she was here. The employee tells Massey that when Deedra returned to the car, she reported something of interest.

He says she says that the tags on the car were stolen while she was in Baltimore City. But that was one of the details she did leave out. Curious about the stolen license plate, Detective Massey employs a cutting-edge piece of police technology to try and learn more. Police have these license plate reader systems and they're on the patrol vehicle.

And basically, is scanning vehicles as the patrol car is driving down the road. They snap a picture of the vehicle. They snap a picture of the tag and they give you a location where the tag was when the picture was taken. Detective Massey enters the plate number stolen from Deedra's rental into the system and gets a hit.

Our license plate reader captured that tag on the morning of June 19, about a mile to a mile and a half away from the victim's residence. Next, police enter the license plate from Lonnie's van and are stunned to discover his vehicle matched up with the same location and time as the other car. We see the morning he left. The victim's tag at 6.55 at Liberty and Mary's Field

one second later. The stolen tags that Miss Griffin had reported to stolen was caption on the tag reader. Right behind Lonnie, as he goes to work on the morning of the 19th, you see a light pan Chevy Malibu following Lonnie. What isn't clear is who is behind the wheel of the car? You could certainly tell it was an African-American female

who seemed to be of a short stature. That's what Deirdre Griffon is, and that was very important that we were on the right path. With Dierdred now at the top of the suspect list, detectives take a deep dive into her cell phone records. Dierdred was absolutely crystal clear in her July 4th interview that after June 17th, she was in Bay City, Michigan. When they analyzed those cell phone records, her July 4th interview that after June 17th, she was in Bay City, Michigan.

When the analyzed those cell phone records, it had her phone being used at a cell phone tower in Maryland, not Bay City, Michigan, at the time of the murder. Investigators also notice multiple calls and text messages made to a Michigan man named Martin Hodder. So my partner drives the Ann Arbor to go try to find Martin Hodder to figure out

what his angle in this is and why she contacted him when she returned to Michigan. Hodder tells the detective that Diedra was a friend and had contacted him looking for a favor. She told him she had to go to Chicago for a job interview and Diedra asked him to run a car because she didn't have a credit card. She would give him the cash later on. Martin seems to be a nice guy and he rents a car from the local Ann Arbor rental place

and then actually takes a picture of the car, sends it to her and says, here's the car, I'm gonna offer you, it's parked in the parking lot. When investigators learn what kind of car was rented, another piece of the puzzle falls into place. Marty had rented her a Chevy Malibu. Detectives know that the exact same kind of vehicle

had been following Lonnie the morning of his death. We realized the Chevy Malibu was the same color as the car. When we placed a stone tag to the tag reader, so at this point we know we're getting more evidence to basically same Miss Griffin went back to Michigan, made it seem as she was there and came back and killed Mr. Peck. The detectives again combed through Deidre's cell phone records and find a crucial clue.

We noticed that she contacted a storage place, probably four or five miles away from Pays Resonant. The detectives go straight to the storage facility and find out that Deidra indeed has an account there, but that's not all. Record show that someone accessed her unit on June 16th and June 18th. So, we're able to then pull the surveillance of the storage unit on the 18th of June. That's aimed at Diedra's unit.

As Detective Massey views the footage, unit on the 18th of June. That's aimed at Deirdre's unit. As Detective Massey views the footage, a familiar-looking car rolls into the scene. It's the Malibu. That Marty Hunter had rented her. You then see somebody get out of that Chevy Malibu, and then start bending down towards the back of the actual vehicle.

It looks like she took a license plate off, and then she put a new license plate on. For Detective Massey, there is little doubt that the person in the video is his number one suspect, Deedra Griffin. I believe she went to the storage facility on the 16th to place the stolen tags from the Jeep Cherokee in there. That way, she didn't have to transport them to Michigan

and they were waiting for her, so she could put them on the rental car that she got in Michigan. Coming up, the evidence against Deedra Griffin is stacking up, but is it enough? She tried to think of everything, but is it enough? She tried to think of everything, but obviously people are human. They make a little mistakes here and there.

And detectives race to Michigan and confront their suspect. If I told you that you were seen in multiple situations, it was impossible. We're seeing it multiple times in the case of a possible. Four weeks after Lonnie pays brutal murder, investigators in Maryland believe they're finally closing in on his killer. And the person they think is responsible is Lonnie's ex and the mother of their child, 41-year-old Diedra Griffin. You're saying you're in Michigan,

that your phone is as close to the crime scene as possible at the time of the crime? That was talent. Confident that they have enough evidence to make an arrest, investigators fly into Michigan and make a surprise visit at Dejra's home. Now, I was sitting there, and I look out the back window, and there's a policeman with a shotgun.

I'm going, what in and all of a sudden they come into the front door? Dejra seemed a little at disbelief that we were there and that we were there again. While Dejra is transported to the police station for questioning, the remaining investigators begin a search of her home. They found a handgun, a nine millimeter, in fact,

which is the same type of handgun use in this crime. Police send the gun to their ballistic experts for testing. As the search inside D. D. D. D. D. res home continues, another damning piece of evidence is uncovered. We also found a number of paper targets from a local gun range that were used. The tech does one to the range, and the range staff remembered assisting her

was shooting the gun. The gun range owner explained that he was terrible at remembering customers' names, but remembered people's faces that he had actually taken a photo while smiling, seemingly happy, gator-gryphate learning how to fire her gun. As more and more evidence links Diedra to the crime, police receive one more tantalizing piece of information. Inside the home, Diedra's sister-in-law,

Anne Hill, drops a bombshell. I told him I know she did it. I just know I'm a heart. I didn't see her do it. I just bought all the circumstances. Just point to her. Anne tells police that on the day Deidre was scheduled to make her court ordered child swap with Lonnie, something stood out to her.

You peck battles, you peck diapers, you peck outfits, you peck their little Bobby chair that you feed them in, and she didn't take any of it when she went to the exchange. I thought that was very odd. She remembers them leaving, and then within one to two hours coming back and just mentioning that Lonnie never showed up. But we were able to develop that she knew he wasn't going to show up because she knew he

was dead. Back at the Bay County Law Enforcement Center, Detective Massey lays it all out on the table for D-Dra. I told her, listen, some things came up about your alibi. I just wanted to clear form. When I started telling her the list of evidence, she seemed to be like, OK, just listen. And like, she went at great lengths to go undetected.

And now I'm telling her how much we've detected her. I was putting it out there, look, this is what we have. Can you explain it or can't you? She'd say she wanted a lawyer and the interview was terminated. Then we told her she was being arrested. She was in shock. I mean, as anybody would be when they're arrested

for something like this. 11 months later, inside a Maryland courtroom, prosecutors reconstructed for jurors how they believed the crime went down and why. The address had been in a relationship with Lonnie for about four years. At some point, they did live together in his home where he was murdered. She was clearly familiar with the layout of the home. And all evidence points to the fact that she laid and weighed

for two plus hours waiting for Lonnie to come home. And he was dead within minutes of entering his home. And at the end, it ended up being a custody dispute. It was a judge rule. Hey, every month, he gets to take his son to his house. And you can't have anything to do with it. It all boiled down to she wanted to be in control. She wanted it to be her way or the highway, so I was weak.

And when the judge sort of pulled that rug out from under her, I think that's when she lost it. When you hear all the evidence in the case, you can tell this wasn't just a heat of the moment, I'm just gonna rush down there in a car and do it. We, in our office, maybe, have never seen more premeditation and planning to go into a murder. Facing a mountain of evidence,

Deedra's defense attorneys do what they can to chip away at the state's case. There was no physical evidence that Deedra had ever been in that house. There was no fingerprints. There was no DNA. There was no eye witnesses. Nothing puts her in that house. There was no fingerprints. There was no DNA. There was no eyewitnesses. Nothing puts her in the house at the time of Lonnie's murder. The defense also ceases on the fact

that the gun found in D.D.R.'s home was not the one used to commit the murder. A fact that the state is forced to acknowledge. It was very important that we were clear with the jury. We did testing and the 9-millimeter shell casings in the garage were not fired from the hang-gun we found. What she did with the murder weapon, we'll never know. Could that detail be enough to sway the jury?

On June 10, 2016, jurors announced their decision. Did your Griffin was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder Since 2016, jurors announced their decision. Deidre Griffin was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and the use of a hang-un in the commission of a crime of violence. The judge sentenced the defendant to life. Deidre was stoic, but that's how she had been the entire time. She was not one prone to outbursts. And so she was that way when the verdict was read. The verdict proves to be a mixed blessing

for members of Lonnie's family. My dad called me up on the job. He said, get it, get it, get it, get it. That's a good part, that's a good. But that doesn't bring Lonnie back, don't you know what I'm saying? You never want to see him again until I get to heaven. Even now, more than three years after her sentencing, Deedra's actions still raise disbelief.

I couldn't understand how someone as intelligent as Miss Griffith, as educated as Miss Griffith, couldn't stop and put her own needs and desires aside and recognize that element for her son, St. recognized the blessing and gift that she had in Mr. Pay as far as the man that was the father to her child. Lonning seemed like a really nice guy. Wanted to be right there with the baby.

Wanted to be in the baby's life. He rejected her, not the baby. I know that the wars and cost of the, and these types of battles can bring out the worst in people that never thought that she would kill him. Deirdre Griffin is currently incarcerated at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women. Deirdre and Lonnie's son is being raised

by Deirdre's mother in Michigan. For more information on snapped, go to oxygen.com Deirdre Griffin is currently incarcerated at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women. Dear Dr. Nlaani's son is being raised by Deirdre's mother in Michigan. Deirdre Griffin is currently incarcerated at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women. Deirdre and Lonnie's son is being raised by Deirdre's mother in Michigan.