Christopher Griggs is standing trial this week, accused of violently killing a beloved Atlanta pastor in May 2022. Rev. Marita Harrell was the senior pastor at Connections at Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Before the murder, she was mentoring the formerly incarcerated Griggs, attempting to help him get his life back on track.
“God has placed these people in my life, I cannot turn away from them,” Harrell told her husband before her death.
[Editor’s Note: This article includes details of the murder that some readers might find disturbing.]
Christopher Griggs Stands Trial for Brutal Murder of Beloved Pastor Marita Harrell
On May 18, 2022, Rev. Marita Harrell was killed. When she didn’t arrive home for dinner that day, her husband, Antonio Harrell, and older daughter, Marae Harrell, tracked her phone and went looking for her. The two found Harrell’s body in her van on Coffee Road, a remote road in the area.
Earlier that day, Harrell was counseling Griggs at his home, where the alleged murder took place. The two had been meeting for several months as Harrell wanted to help rehabilitate Griggs. She was stabbed multiple times, burned in her own van, and left by the side of the road.
The state said the pastor texted a friend, “If I should disappear, check out Chris Griggs” and included his address.
Griggs was arrested on May 19, 2022, and is charged with malice murder and first-degree arson. At the time of the murder, Griggs was out on bond awaiting trials for sexual assault and impersonating an officer.
The murder trial has just begun and is expected to last a week, according to local Fox 5 Atlanta news. As the trial began, Griggs abruptly requested to talk with his counsel and to be removed from the courtroom. He was not present in the courtroom for the rest of the day.
Griggs’ lawyers explained that the actual killer of Harrell was Lakeya Reid, a woman who rented Griggs a room in her home.
The state mentioned that Reid was in the home at the time of the murder. Reid told jurors that she and Griggs had a close relationship. On May 18, she explained, Griggs asked her to follow him to a remote location on Coffee Road.
Reid argued that she didn’t know Harrell had been killed or that Griggs put her body in the car. Reid is expected to testify later in the trial.
Marita Harrell Was Passionate About Helping Others
The Rev. Michael McQueen, the United Methodist Church’s (UMC) local district superintendent, said of Harrell, “She was passionate about what she did, which was helping those who are lost and left out. She was doing what she loved to do. That’s what makes this so tragic.”
