NASHVILLE — Brandon Griswold and his girlfriend Whitney Gray, apprehended Monday, will be booked tonight on two counts each of criminal homicide for the brutal beating deaths of two people found deceased early Sunday inside Griswold’s Greenwood Avenue apartment.
Detectives confirmed the victims to be Preston Claybrooks, Jr., 24, and his longtime girlfriend, Alexandra Grubbs, 23, who were living with Griswold and Gray in the same apartment.
Autopsies showed that the two died of blunt force trauma. Their bodies were beaten so badly, police couldn’t immediately identify the victims.
The investigation shows that Claybrooks and Grubbs were likely killed on Monday, September 21. They were reported missing by their families three days later. Police were called to the Greenwood Avenue apartment Saturday by Claybrooks’ mother, who knew of her son’s connection there.
She detected a strong odor of decomposition upon her arrival. During hours of crime scene processing, the victims were ultimately found wrapped in separate bedspreads in a closet. Various items had been placed on top of them.
Griswold and Gray, who officers had been searching for since Saturday, were located with a homeless man not far from the Radnor Yard railroad depot. Officers received information that the two were seen walking near the railroad tracks earlier in the day.
As officers arrived to begin a coordinated search, the two were spotted in the parking lot and were taken into custody. Griswold initially claimed he was someone else, although officers knew better.
Griswold and Gray both admitted their responsibility for the double murder during questioning by Detectives Roland and Jill Weaver.
The motive appears to involve a lingering personal dispute between the two couples that also involved heroin use. -MNPD
