A Jamaican man, reportedly from Montego Bay, was indicted earlier this week by an Orange County grand jury for the 2021 killings of a Florida woman and her 1-year-old daughter.
Doujon Griffiths, 24, was indicted for first-degree murder with a firearm, first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and three counts of shooting at, within, or into a building, the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office announced in a press release Thursday.
According to the press release, just after 5 a.m. Sept. 7, 2021, Griffiths allegedly shot and killed 20-year-old Massania Malcolm inside a car in an Oak Ridge parking lot. He then allegedly left her baby, Jordania, inside the car without calling for help. The vehicle was discovered two days later with the deceased child inside — killed by the heat.
Griffiths is also accused of shooting and injuring Malcolm’s boyfriend, whose name has not been released. He survived.
Malcolm’s boyfriend told deputies he was in the car with Malcolm and their daughter when Griffiths, who had been staying with them and was riding in the backseat, shot him several times after an argument.
Griffiths, who was on the run for three years after the March 2021 incident, was apprehended more than 1,000 miles away from the scene of the crime during a traffic stop in New Jersey two months ago. Griffiths, who had altered his appearance from clean-cut to flowing dreadlocks, was extradited to Florida to face justice.
Jamaican community shocked
The killings sent shockwaves through Montego Bay, particularly in Glendevon, where both Malcolm and Griffiths had lived before moving to the United States.
Malcolm’s mother, Latoya ‘Budeisha’ Reid, a well-known figure on Montego Bay’s party scene, now resides in the United States as well.
Local police reported that Griffiths, who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally, had been involved in gang activities in Jamaica before his move.
A source close to Malcolm revealed that she and her boyfriend had taken Griffiths in as an act of kindness. Griffiths had recently arrived from Jamaica and had no place to stay, so they let him live with them rent-free for several months. When it became clear that the Jamaican had no intention of moving out or contributing to the household expenses, they asked him to leave.
Griffiths was denied bond during his first court appearance in early April. While Florida permits the death penalty—by lethal injection or electric chair—it remains unclear if prosecutors will pursue this option.
