After fatally shooting his father in their shared Fayette County home last year, Griffin Leach took a brief moment before deciding to buy beer at a nearby convenience store, prosecutors said.
The 24-year-old eventually returned, grabbed some gasoline and set fire to the Fayetteville residence in January 2023 in order to cover up the killing of 49-year-old William Leach, according to the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. Officials said he lied to responding law enforcement that his father had shot himself after burning the home on Porter Road, which was surrounded by caution tape for months after the incident.
On Thursday, following a week-long trial, Griffin Leach was found guilty of murder and arson in connection with the death of his father, who was lying in his bed when was shot, the DA’s office said. Superior Court Judge W. Fletcher Sams then sentenced the son to life in prison, plus 35 years.
“Justice was served due to the hard work of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and the Georgia State Fire Marshal,” District Attorney Marie M. Broder said in a statement. “My team had an incredible case to work with, and everyone came together to fight for William Leach.”
According to prosecutors, Griffin Leach fled the burning home after the Jan. 11, 2023, killing. Firefighters responded the following morning when a passerby noticed the house engulfed in flames and called 911.
But as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze, prosecutors said Griffin Leach drove by the scene, leading him to be stopped by a deputy with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into the county jail later that day, according to online records.
“He told the deputy that his father had set fire to the home after an argument and then shot himself,” the DA’s office said.
Prosecutors said a .38 special revolver was found in Griffin Leach’s truck, and forensic testing of the bullet recovered from his father’s body showed it had been fired from that gun. The testing also found gasoline on the victim’s body, his bedding and Griffin Leach’s clothing, according to the DA’s office. In addition, Griffin Leach’s hands and clothes tested positive for gunshot residue, prosecutors said.
Leach was convicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder, first-degree arson, concealing the death of another and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the DA’s office said. He was sentenced without the possibility of parole.
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