A Lithonia man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Gwinnett woman, whose body was found disposed on the side of the road in a blue container. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston's office reported that on August 16, a jury convicted 60-year-old James Lee Griffin, Jr. for Felony Murder, Malice Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Concealing the Death of Another Person, related to the death of 39-year-old Kathleen Bass on June 12, 2020. After vacating his apartment where evidence tied him to the crime, Griffin fled to Arkansas but was arrested when he returned to the area.
According to official reports, a construction worker came across the victim's remains on July 23, 2020, while preparing a site for laying fiber cables at the intersection of Lithonia Industrial Boulevard and Hillandale Drive. The container, releasing a foul odor, was accidentally overturned by the worker's equipment, revealing its grisly contents. Subsequent media reports of the discovery led to anonymous tips linking the body to Bass, prompting authorities to investigate Griffin.
Investigators found a bag of trash next to the container containing the victim's body with a pizza box that included a receipt. The receipt bore Griffin's name, phone number, and the address to an apartment located just over a mile from where Bass's body was found. Upon executing a search warrant, DeKalb County Police Department detectives found what appeared to be bloodstains and a strong bleach odor in the bedroom of the abandoned apartment. DNA testing confirmed the presence of both the victim’s and defendant’s DNA in the smears.
During Griffin's trial, as portrayed by court documents, a witness described having dropped Bass off at Griffin's apartment complex that early morning of June 12. Ring security footage from a neighbor's camera later showed Griffin leaving his apartment with a large blue container matching the one in which the body was found. The Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an examination of Bass’s remains, revealing stab wounds consistent with being attacked by a knife.
Defendant Griffin, after being apprehended on September 17, 2020, was tried and found guilty. DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Asha F. Jackson sentenced him immediately following the verdict to life in prison plus an additional ten years. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Scacco with assistance from other members of the prosecuting team, including Senior Assistant District Attorney Furhawn Shah, District Attorney Investigator Antoine Winston, and Victim Advocate Christy Palmer. DKPD Detective Hoyt led the initial investigation, culminating in a resolution that has now seen Griffin facing a lifetime behind bars.
