The three teenagers who allegedly committed the brutal murder of their Miramar High School classmate were charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and criminal conspiracy. The three Florida teens will be tried as adults for the murder committed with a knife and sword.
What happened to Dwight ‘DJ’ Grant?
18-year-old Grant was allegedly lured from his apartment by his 17-year-old female friend, who took him down the stairs where a trap was waiting for him. According to surveillance footage, her 17-year-old boyfriend and their 16-year-old female friend knocked Grant to the ground, stabbed him in the neck, and then plunged a sword into his chest — killing him. RELATED: 5 Theories About What Really Happened In The Murdaugh Family Murders From True Crime Sleuths — Principal Formoso (@msformoso) October 19, 2021
The teens allegedly planned Dwight Grant’s murder ahead of time.
According to the arrest affidavit, the teenagers had planned the murder several days in advance after the boyfriend got angry at Grant for sleeping with his ex-girlfriend, whom he still had a emotional connection with. “Murder will definitely happen soon,” he told his girlfriend in texts leading up to October 17th. “It’s happening by [homecoming].” She responded by saying, “[O]h — see that I can help,” and then recruited the 16-year-old girl by telling her that Grant “raped” his girlfriend — which wasn’t true. A spokeswoman for the Miramar Police Department told the Washington Post that the 17-year-old boy’s claims were untrue, saying “we have no evidence of any sexual assault.” “Detectives spoke with that ex-girlfriend and she stated that the sexual relationship was consensual,” she continued. “We felt the need to mention this to prevent any misunderstandings in regards to the victim.” On the 17th, the day of the murder, the three teenagers met up at a playground near the 16-year-old’s apartment complex in all-black clothing. The 17-year-old girl had allegedly been texting Grant over the last few days, trying to schedule a time for them to meet up with the promise of sex. At around 7 p.m., surveillance footage shows the group leaving the 16-year-old’s apartment complex and entering Grant’s minutes later, which was when the 17-year-old called him. According to an affidavit, the attack started at 7:09 p.m. when the 16-year-old girl had been holding the sword that was used to kill Grant, which she dropped soon after he arrived.
Grant tried to escape his attackers.
Upon inspection of the scene, Grant reportedly tried to run away from the three teenagers but was caught by the boy, who said “you know I have to kill you now.” Grant tried to run away a second time, pleading for his life, but was pinned down by the 16-year old girl while the boy punched him repeatedly. RELATED: Pregnant Army Wife Asked A Facebook Friend For Help Escaping Abuse Days Before Fatal Brain Injury Somehow, he managed to pick up the sword that was dropped by the 16-year-old girl. “The victim raised the sword in order to protect himself and [the 16-year-old] observed [the boy] pull out the small knife that he had and stabbed the victim on the right side of his neck,” the affidavit said. The boy then told the 16-year-old girl “to get the sword and end it,” she told police. Upon refusal, however, she handed him the sword and said “you do it,” which he did — plunging the sword into his chest and killing him. “They then toss the lifeless body of the victim over a railing and into bushes … in front of the stairwell,” police said. The allegedly teens then proceeded to try and clean up the crime scene — using cleaning materials they brought beforehand to clean up the blood, moving Grant’s body to a nearby bush, and burning their clothes in a small bonfire.
Grant’s mother reported him missing on Oct. 17.
They returned to the 16-year-old girl’s apartment complex at around 8:30 p.m., and within hours, Grant’s mother, Madge Emile, tried to report her son missing to the police. Since he was already 18 years old, she would have to wait 48 hours to call again, so she resorted to other methods. She contacted the 17-year-old girl that same evening, asking if she had seen Grant. The teen responded that she had seen him that day, but “hasn’t spoken with him since and doesn’t know what happened to him.” Two days later on October 19th, Grant’s mother called the police again and told them that she reviewed the surveillance footage — claiming she saw “two men beating her child, while a female watched.” Law enforcement and detectives arrived at the apartment complex and closed off the scene upon discovering traces of blood and Grant’s “badly beaten” body. Police said that they connected the teenagers through the surveillance footage and DNA evidence, arresting them over the weekend while they await their trial. Emile’s family started a GoFundMe in order to assist Grant’s mother with the funeral expenses. Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor told NBC 6 that a team of senior prosecutors met in order to decide whether they would be tried as adults, and upon reviewing the evidence and circumstances decided they would. “If this case were to be handled as a juvenile matter, the maximum term of residential treatment would be 36 months prior to release,” Pryor’s statement read. “A juvenile charge would mean that the person would be released after three years in the system and could only be kept under supervision in the community until age 21.” RELATED: Husband Of Missing California Woman Allegedly Talked About Murdering Her Multiple Times In The Past Year Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.
