On a spring evening in Portsmouth, Virginia, the life of 21-year-old Jalisa Knight was tragically cut short. On May 14, 2011, she was discovered in her white Acura in the 1100 block of Mt. Vernon Avenue in the London Oaks neighborhood, having been fatally shot. The young woman’s death was a profound loss to her family and friends, who remembered her for her good heart. In the wake of her death, a candlelight vigil was held in Virginia Beach, where friends and family gathered to mourn and remember her.
The investigation into her death led to the identification of two suspects. Michael Ecklin, who was 26 at the time, was indicted by a grand jury in August 2012 on charges of murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was already in custody at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail on unrelated charges when the indictment was handed down. In addition to the charges related to Knight's death, Ecklin also faced two counts of attempted robbery from incidents that occurred prior to the shooting.
A second suspect, 28-year-old Jerome Alexander Griffin Sr., was also charged in connection with the murder. In February 2013, a grand jury indicted him on a charge of murder. Griffin was also already in the custody of the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office on unrelated charges at the time of his indictment.
The legal proceedings for the two men brought some measure of closure to Jalisa Knight's family. Jerome Alexander Griffin Sr. ultimately entered an Alford plea of guilty to second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains their innocence but concedes that the prosecution has enough evidence to likely secure a conviction. As part of a plea agreement, the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office recommended a maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison.
