Police breaks into North Carolina home after 3 welfare checks. What they find triggers manhunt for the family’s teen daughter

16-year-old Star Grant is facing first-degree murder charges alongside 28-year-old Devan Loving after a welfare check led to the discovery of three bodies inside a home in Fairview, North Carolina. Per ABC 7, the police were called when relatives had not heard from the family for some time. Deputies found that 41-year-old Travis Eugene Grant, 42-year-old Kimberly Michelle Grant, and 66-year-old Sharon Harwood Grant had all been shot to death.

The investigation revealed that the victims were Star’s parents and grandmother. Following the discovery of the bodies, law enforcement officials quickly determined that the teen was missing from the home, which launched a wide-ranging search effort. According to PEOPLE, police in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, found Star and Loving in a hotel room after a car linked to the teenager was spotted outside the building. 

Both were taken into custody on Friday morning, May 8. They are currently facing identical charges, which include three counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony conspiracy to commit murder. While Star is only 16, the sheriff’s office has confirmed she will be charged as an adult in this case.

Finding her was a short but tedious process

The family was only found on the third welfare check. Deputies had conducted earlier welfare checks at the property on May 4 and May 6, but lacked legal grounds to force entry into the house during those visits. Buncombe County Sheriff’s Captain Dustan Auldredge stated that the situation changed the third time. 

“They did not develop enough information to force entry into the residence. We have to be able to articulate an exigency there and the information at that time just did not exist,” Auldredge explained. He further noted that “A lot of facts … became clear at the time of the third welfare check that painted a picture of exigency to enter the residence [May 7].”

In order to find Star, investigators looked into potential leads regarding her whereabouts. They eventually gathered information suggesting that Star may have been in Gatlinburg. 

This information proved to be accurate, as authorities from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Gatlinburg Police Department successfully tracked the pair to a local hotel.

The nature of the relationship between Star Grant and Devan Loving has not been publicly disclosed at this time. However, reports indicate that the teen had been adopted by Travis Grant in 2019. Relatives of the family also provided investigators with one heartbreaking fact. 

Reportedly, Star had previously been involved with a man who gave her a burner cell phone so that they could talk in secret. Travis had attempted to file a restraining order against that individual, but for now, it’s unclear if that person was Loving.

At this stage, officials have not released a specific motive for the shooting. Law enforcement personnel believe the victims had been dead for several days before the discovery. The exact time of death, however, is still being determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office. 

Instead, detectives from the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Gatlinburg to interview the suspects. This is where the charges come into play. According to the office, “Information received during those interviews led to [their charges].”

Currently, Star Grant is being held at the Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center, while Devan Loving is in custody with the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office. Both of them will have to go through an extradition hearing in Tennessee before they can be transported back to Buncombe County to face the charges. 

For now, the investigation continues, and Buncombe County Sheriff has stated, “We would like to express our condolences to the family of these victims. We would also like to share our gratitude for our team of Patrol Deputies, Detectives, Crime Scene Investigators, and those leading these teams. Most of them have not slept because they have focused on nothing but arriving at this outcome that will hopefully bring closure to those impacted by this tragedy.”