In the early hours of February 10, 2017, the life of 36-year-old Ajonte J. Griffin was cut short in a violent encounter in Gary, Indiana. Responding to reports of gunfire in the 300 block of McKinley Street at approximately 1:35 a.m., police officers discovered a grim scene. Griffin and a 29-year-old woman were both found suffering from gunshot wounds.
While the woman was transported to a local hospital for treatment, Griffin was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:53 a.m., his death later ruled a homicide by the Lake County coroner's office.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a harrowing story of a domestic dispute turned deadly. The injured woman identified her ex-boyfriend, Anthony Harry Day, as the assailant. She told authorities that she had ended her relationship with Day about two weeks prior to the incident. On the night of the shooting, she and Griffin had returned to her home after spending the day together. As she was in the bathroom, she heard a commotion and emerged to find Griffin in a struggle with an armed Day in one of the bedrooms.
Despite attempts to de-escalate the volatile situation, Day opened fire, wounding his ex-girlfriend and fatally shooting Griffin. In the aftermath of the tragic event, Anthony Harry Day was charged with a string of serious offenses, including murder, attempted murder, and battery committed with a deadly weapon. Additional charges of stalking and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon were also filed against him.
Day pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. His legal proceedings have been protracted, with his first trial in June 2019 ending in a mistrial. A new trial was scheduled to begin in March 2024, leaving the final chapter of this tragic story to be written in a courtroom, years after the events that led to the untimely death of Ajonte Griffin.
