Kristopher Miller, a 27-year-old Black/African American man, was found shot to death on the front porch of his Minneapolis, Minnesota, apartment in the early morning hours of May 11, 2011. A staff member at North High School, his alma mater, Miller was known for greeting students each morning with warmth and encouragement. His sudden death left the school community and his family, including his two young daughters, in profound grief.
The investigation into Miller's death quickly focused
on Derrick Trevor Griffin, a 40-year-old associate minister at a local church. The motive for the killing was determined to be jealousy, as Miller had recently been spending time with Griffin's estranged wife. Griffin had been stalking his wife and had seen Miller with her on the night of the murder.
Investigators utilized a combination of modern technology and traditional police work to build a case against Griffin. Surveillance footage captured a white Cadillac, matching the description of Griffin's vehicle, near the scene of the crime. Cell phone records placed Griffin in the vicinity of Miller's apartment at the time of the shooting. Furthermore, ballistics testing matched a shell casing found at the scene to a handgun recovered from a home associated with Griffin. Following his arrest, a recorded jailhouse phone call captured Griffin instructing his estranged wife not to cooperate with the police.
Derrick Griffin was initially charged with second-degree intentional murder. However, a grand jury later indicted him on the more serious charge of first-degree premeditated murder. Griffin was convicted and received a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
