A 26-year-old man went on trial in Orlando this week, accused of shooting a 20-year-old mother and her boyfriend before leaving the woman's 1-year-old daughter to die in a hot car back in 2021. Doujon Griffiths faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder, first-degree murder with a firearm, and attempted first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Massania Malcom and her daughter, Jordania, along with the shooting of Malcom's boyfriend, who survived.
A Homeless Man Taken In, Then Accused of Murder
According to WESH, investigators said Malcom and her boyfriend had taken Griffiths in after he became homeless, letting him stay at their apartment. The State Attorney's Office said Griffiths shot and killed Malcom after shooting her boyfriend. Investigators said Jordania, Malcom's 1-year-old daughter, died after being left inside a hot car.
The station's report indicates the couple told Griffiths on the morning of September 7, 2021, that he needed to leave the household. Malcom and her boyfriend were reportedly driving him to a bus stop that morning when he allegedly opened fire on them. Malcom's boyfriend survived the shooting and later shared details of the incident with investigators.
Bodies Found Two Days Later
Jordania was found dead alongside her mother's body two days later in a parking lot on Lake Ellenor Drive, per investigators cited in the same WESH account. Griffiths was not arrested at the time of the killings; he was arrested in March 2024 in New Jersey, more than two years after the killings, and was later found competent to stand trial after being indicted in the murders of Malcom and Jordania.
Additional detail on the arrest comes from WFTV, which reported that Griffiths was arrested in Linden, New Jersey, after a traffic stop, and that an Orange County grand jury formally indicted him for the attempted murder of Malcom's boyfriend along with the murders of Malcom and her daughter. The outlet also reported that investigators located the family's vehicle in the Lake Ellenor Drive parking lot after a relative reported being unable to reach Malcom and the infant.
Extradition and a Denied Bond
Fox 35 Orlando reported that Griffiths was arrested in New Jersey more than two years after the killings and was later extradited back to Orange County, where a judge denied him bond at his first court appearance. Linden, New Jersey, police found one outstanding Orange County, Florida, first-degree murder warrant for Griffiths during a traffic stop.
Jury Selection Begins as Judge Weighs Photo Evidence
Prosecutors began jury selection Monday and plan to present the case's details to a 12-person jury, according to WESH, with the trial expected to last all week. Griffiths' defense team had requested that the jury be sequestered, but Judge Vincent Chiu denied that motion.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors also sparred over whether the state could show jurors a photo of Jordania during the trial. Chiu ultimately allowed prosecutors to use a single identification photo showing the child's face and shoulder area, while instructing the state to limit how long the image remained on display.
