On the night of January 26, 2022, in Greenville, Mississippi, 41-year-old Maurice Watson, a Black male, was shot and killed. The Greenville Police Department received a call at approximately 11:28 p.m. reporting that a person had been shot at an apartment on Cornell Avenue. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Watson unresponsive in the living room, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The investigation quickly pointed to 22-year-old Daniel Grace as the primary suspect. Witnesses reported hearing an argument between Grace and Watson shortly before the gunshots. Grace fled the scene after the shooting, leaving behind several shell casings and a black knitted hat. However, about four hours later, he turned himself in to the police. During questioning, Grace claimed that he had acted in self-defense, alleging that Watson had threatened him with a knife. A thorough search of the crime scene, however, did not uncover a knife or any other weapon near Watson's body. An autopsy later confirmed that the cause of death was homicide resulting from multiple gunshot wounds.
Initially charged with First Degree Murder, Daniel Grace’s case was set to go to trial. As a jury awaited the start of the proceedings, Grace opted to plead guilty to the lesser charge of Second Degree Murder. Following his plea, he faced a sentence of a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 40 years of mandatory incarceration. The court postponed the sentencing hearing to allow Maurice Watson's family the opportunity to provide their input regarding an appropriate sentence.
