Malaika Griffin

Case record: Malaika Griffin

Timeline

• May 11, 1971 — Malaika Tamu Griffin was born.
• May 18, 1999 — Malaika Griffin argued with her neighbor Jason Patrick Horsley in front of their homes; Horsley was shot and killed.
• June 4, 2005 — Authorities received a tip leading to Griffin’s capture after an airing of “America’s Most Wanted.”
• June 7, 2005 — Malaika Griffin was arrested in El Cajon, California.
• February 27, 2006 — Malaika Griffin’s trial began.
• March 5, 2006 — Malaika Griffin was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• April 16, 2009 — The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed Griffin’s convictions.
• February 3, 2008 — Griffin’s case was profiled on Oxygen Network’s program “Snapped.”
• October 12, 2012 — Griffin’s case was profiled on Investigation Discovery’s “Deadly Women.”
• April 2009 — Griffin filed an appeal to the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Background

Malaika Tamu Griffin was an American woman who received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry after attending Jackson State University. She was known as a “loner” and, after her graduation, she went on a solo backpacking journey in Europe.

In 1999, Griffin moved to Denver, Colorado. She worked in a pharmacy and rented a room in a house nextdoor to a white couple: Jason Patrick Horsley and his girlfriend Deborah Loiselle. Jason Horsley was a carpenter.

Griffin and Horsley lived next door, and daily after work Horsley unloaded, organized, and then reloaded tools into his truck in front of Griffin’s house.

The offence

On May 18, 1999, Griffin confronted Jason Horsley about the routine of him unloading, organizing, and reloading tools in front of her house. After a heated argument, Griffin entered her house, returned with a gun, and shot Horsley in the back, killing him.

At trial, Griffin testified and claimed that she did not intend to shoot Horsley but fired the gun accidentally when startled by barking dogs. She also testified that just before the shooting, Horsley said, “I'm getting tired of you, bitch. I'm going to resolve this,” as he reached into his truck. Griffin did not contest the other charges.

After the shooting, Griffin fled to the nearby home of an acquaintance, Monique Thomas. Griffin stole Thomas’ car at gunpoint and drove away. The car was later found abandoned in Iowa City, Iowa. She had last been seen boarding a bus headed for Chicago, Illinois.

Police found a 9 mm assault rifle, ammunition, hand grenades, and the library of a terrorist inside Griffin’s apartment. The books included “The Anarchist Cookbook,” “Home Workshop Silencers,” and “The Poor Man's James Bond.” Police also found Griffin’s diary. In it, Griffin expressed deep hatred for white people.

Investigation and discovery

After the shooting, authorities treated Griffin as a fugitive for six years.

Griffin was profiled on “America’s Most Wanted” multiple times before her capture. She was last seen boarding a bus headed for Chicago, Illinois, after which there had been no sighting of her for years.

In May 22, 2004, Griffin was profiled again on “America’s Most Wanted.” In June 4, 2005, she was profiled again on the program. After the second showing, authorities received a tip from Griffin’s co-workers. The FBI and the El Cajon Police Department contacted the suspect, who had been going by the name “Lake Griffin.” After the FBI confronted her, Griffin admitted her identity.

Co-workers in El Cajon contacted authorities after seeing the “America’s Most Wanted” program. Griffin was arrested a few hours after the show aired.

During searches connected to the case, Denver authorities found a cache of weapons inside Griffin’s room, including an assault rifle and grenades. Authorities also found terrorist literature about a coming race war and notebooks in Griffin’s handwriting about killing white people.

Arrest and extradition

In June 2005, authorities arrested Malaika Griffin in El Cajon, California, a suburb of San Diego, after she was recognized following the “America’s Most Wanted” segment.

In June 7, 2005 reporting, an FBI Special Agent Jan Caldwell said Griffin was arrested at her home on Roanoke Avenue in El Cajon at about 5 p.m. Sunday, and she was booked into Las Colinas Jail on murder charges. Caldwell stated that co-workers believed Griffin worked with them and that Griffin was using another name; after contact with the FBI, Griffin admitted that she was in fact Malaika Griffin.

Griffin waived extradition and was returned to Colorado to stand trial. Griffin’s extradition papers were signed during a short hearing before Judge David Szumowski at the San Diego County Courthouse.

Trial

Malaika Griffin’s trial began on February 27, 2006.

During trial, the jury read excerpts from Griffin’s diary about her hatred of white people. One diary entry read:

"I am so sick of looking at white people!! I am so goddamn tired of them!! I wish I could kill those no good fagot, pedophilic, rapists, thieves & make it painful, (very)."

Prosecutors entered into evidence the weapons found in Griffin’s apartment after she fled.

Griffin decided to testify in her own defense. She claimed to be innocent of the offenses and stated her diary was about a play she was writing.

A one-week trial concluded with seven hours of jury deliberations. Griffin was convicted on all counts.

Griffin’s jury verdicts found her guilty of first degree murder and aggravated robbery. Under Colorado law described during trial, a first-degree murder conviction resulted in an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole. The trial court sentenced her to life in prison for first degree murder, plus ten years in prison for aggravated robbery.

Sentencing

On March 5, 2006, Malaika Griffin was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Appeals

Griffin filed an appeal in April 2009 to the Colorado Court of Appeals. She argued that her convictions should be overturned because her trial attorney was not licensed to practice law in Colorado, her notebook entries, self-defense instructions, and prosecutorial misconduct.

In the case titled The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Malaika Griffin, Defendant-Appellant, No. 06CA0784, the appellate court affirmed the convictions.

Attorney pro hac vice

Griffin argued that her convictions must be reversed because her trial attorney was not licensed to practice law in Colorado. The Colorado Court of Appeals rejected this argument.

Notebook entries

Griffin argued that the court erred in admitting evidence of opinions and ideas she wrote in a notebook.

The appellate decision described that while fleeing the shooting, Griffin dropped a backpack containing a spiral notebook. Over Griffin’s objection, the trial court admitted excerpts from her writings, including the following quotations:

Since white “laws” never work for the cultural other anyway, the best thing to do is ignore them.
We need to control whites for the good of womankind, look at all the destruct n they have created․
We must not only devalue whites to think they are less than us-they must be worth nothing ․ their existence must have no human significance to Blacks. They must exist only to assure us of our Black value to act out & attribute our most destructive instincts. ․ Fuck our enemies. They will kill us For sure. Black woman learn defense. Kill your enemies by any means: knives (are messy & you would have over power them so make sure they are weaker/asleep), guns (try to put a pillow over it so it won't be so loud or mabe a silencer), poison (this is what you have the greatest access to use it), hire killers (group together & hire hit people or mercenaries), make your own bomb (check the internet or people (Blk woman) who are in the military to get military bks), make molotav cocktails and throw them on your enemies. ․ Go ahead, try it. Go ahead, do it. Go ahead, you are afraid, I know, To kill our enemy. I am not afraid to say it/do it. ․ Enough talk, do it. Kill them. Do it often and subtlety, we have been patient too long. Our enemies taught us to be patient, wait for “their god” to come & save us, don't fight until then but be gd. servants. This is what our enemies teach us. Kill them. ․ Fuck what our enemies say. Their opinion should no longer guide us in our direct n out of this white supremacist patriachal hell. I hate them & deep down you do too. 98% of the Blk female populat n think whites aren't worth shit and don't want to be around them less alone think about them. We hate whites more than they hate us. So it is time we used our fear, anger, disgust to destroy them. Blk wm unite. [sic]

The appellate court concluded the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the notebook entries and held that a limiting instruction was not required sua sponte.

The appellate court addressed the jury instruction as follows:

“In arriving at your verdict you may consider evidence of the defendant's character in determining whether the defendant would be likely to commit the offense charged.”

Self-defense instructions

Griffin argued that the trial court’s instructions on self-defense were erroneous in three ways: (1) including an instruction on the initial aggressor exception; (2) failure to define “initial aggressor”; and (3) failure to instruct the jury about self-defense against a first or second degree assault.

The appellate court rejected all three arguments, including the arguments reviewed for plain error.

Outcome

The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed Griffin’s convictions on April 16, 2009. The judgment was affirmed after review.

Other details

People involved in appellate proceedings included John W. Suthers, Attorney General, Paul Koehler, First Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee; Douglas K. Wilson, Colorado State Public Defender, Sarah A. Burtis, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant.

At trial, Griffin’s jury read excerpts from her diary about her hatred of white people.

Griffin’s case was profiled on “Snapped” on February 3, 2008 and on “Deadly Women” on October 12, 2012.

Most Wanted-related reporting stated that Griffin was found guilty Monday of killing her next-door neighbor and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and that the verdict followed a week-long trial and seven hours of jury deliberations.