CHICAGO — A Chicago man accused of fatally shooting and elderly woman and her two children during a home invasion on the city’s Far South Side in 2022 is now facing felony charges.
According to Chicago police, 21-year-old Zavier Griffin, an Auburn Gresham resident, has been charged with several felonies, including three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of home invasion with a firearm, three counts of murder, two counts of possession or sale of a stolen vehicle and one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault with a firearm.
The charges stem from Griffin’s alleged role in the murder of an elderly woman and her two adult children in Morgan Park in April of 2022.
The three family members were found dead inside a home in the 11300 block of South Green Street after police responded to the area at around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 5.
Police said that they believe Griffin entered the home between April 4 and April 5 and once inside, he allegedly fatally shot two women and a man before fleeing the scene.
The victims were later identified as 81-year-old Arteria Riley, who suffered a gunshot wound to her head, 64-year-old Thomas Ann Riley, who suffered a gunshot wound to her torso, and 61-year-old Ruben Riley, who also suffered a gunshot wound to the torso.
A crisis responder confirmed to WGN-TV in 2022 that the victims were related and had lived in the neighborhood for decades.
It remains unclear what led to the deadly shooting.
Members of the Chicago Police Department and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force eventually caught up with Griffin on Friday morning and he was taken into custody in Pinckneyville, in Perry County.
Griffin appeared in court on Saturday for a detention hearing.