Welfare check uncovers triple homicide, missing teen charged with murder

A welfare check at a Fairview home turned into a murder case in a matter of hours, leaving three members of the Grant family dead and a missing teenager charged in a multistate hunt.

Buncombe County deputies were called to 18 Ashworth Drive at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday, May 7, and found three people dead inside the house. Authorities later said all three died of gunshot wounds. The victims were identified as Travis Eugene Grant, 41; his wife, Kimberly Michelle Grant, 42; and Travis Grant’s mother, Sharon Harwood Grant, 66.

The case escalated again Friday morning, May 8, when investigators located Star Grant, 16, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with Devan Loving, 28. Officials said the pair were each charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony conspiracy to commit murder. Star Grant, who is the daughter of Travis and Kimberly Grant, was also identified by officials as someone who would be charged as an adult.

A report from the scene in Gatlinburg said the two were found at a hotel on Ownby Street after a vehicle linked to Star Grant was spotted outside. The search crossed state lines quickly, with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office getting help from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Gatlinburg Police Department as detectives worked to sort out what happened inside the Fairview home.

Even with the arrests, officials said the investigation was still active and ongoing. Buncombe County authorities also said there was no threat to the public, a key detail that pointed to an isolated family violence case rather than a broader danger in the area.

The shock in the neighborhood was immediate. Crystal Fender, a neighbor, called the killings “a shock” and said the situation was “scary.” The family reaction was just as raw, with one relative saying, “It’s a shock.”

The case now stands out not just for the scale of the violence, but for the speed of the break in the investigation: a welfare check uncovered three bodies, detectives tied the missing teen to the killings, and by Friday morning both Star Grant and Loving were in custody. A county official said the district attorney may choose to pursue the death penalty in Star Grant’s case.