In the winter of 2015, the life of Candace Camille McGriff, a 28-year-old physical education teacher from Lithonia, Georgia, was tragically cut short. On February 17, her fiancé, 30-year-old Antione Hood, placed a 911 call, claiming that McGriff had shot herself in the chest in their apartment on Concepts 21 Drive. When first responders arrived, they found McGriff deceased on the bedroom floor. Hood told investigators that his fiancée had taken her own life because he was trying to end their relationship.
Initially, Hood was questioned by DeKalb County police and released. However, the narrative of suicide soon began to unravel. The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and determined that the fatal gunshot wound could not have been self-inflicted. This crucial piece of evidence shifted the focus of the investigation squarely onto Antione Hood. Investigators concluded that it would have been impossible for McGriff to have shot herself based on the evidence.
Following the medical examiner's findings, an arrest warrant was issued for Hood, and he was taken into custody on February 20, 2015, and charged with felony murder. The case against Hood proceeded to trial, where prosecutors argued that he had murdered McGriff during a heated argument as she was trying to end their relationship. McGriff's family described Hood as controlling and stated that he had attempted to isolate her from her loved ones. In September 2016, a DeKalb County jury found Antione Hood guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Subsequently, a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional five years to be served consecutively.
