DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in the case against a Lithonia man accused of murdering a Gwinnett County woman, concealing her body in a container, and leaving her on the side of the road.
On Friday, August 16, jurors found James Lee Griffin Jr., 60, guilty on charges of Felony Murder, Malice Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Concealing the Death of Another Person stemming from the murder of Kathleen Bass, 39, on June 12, 2020.
According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD) and the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the intersection of Lithonia Industrial Boulevard and Hillandale Drive on July 23, 2020 in reference to possible human remains. A construction worker indicated that he was prepping the site to lay fiber cables and noticed a foul odor and an upside-down blue container. The worker used his construction equipment to move the container, causing its contents to spill out. He observed what appeared to be human remains wrapped up in sheets. After media reports about the discovery of the body emerged, police received two anonymous tips linking the remains to a missing Gwinnett County woman and encouraging police to look into Defendant Griffin.
A bag of trash located next to the container with the victim’s remains was taken into evidence. A pizza box was found inside with a receipt that included Defendant Griffin’s name and phone number as well as an address for an apartment on Hillandale Drive in Lithonia, just over a mile away from where the victim’s body was recovered.
A search warrant executed by DKPD on this apartment revealed that it had been recently vacated haphazardly. In one bedroom, police observed large areas of what appeared to be blood on carpet that someone had attempted to clean along with a heavy smell of bleach. Several small blood smears were found which later revealed both victim's and defendant's DNA. A witness at trial described dropping Bass off at this apartment complex to meet with Griffin in early morning hours of June 12, 2020—a fact supported by phone records—after which she was not seen or heard from again. Ring security camera footage provided by a neighbor showed Defendant Griffin leaving his apartment just days later while pulling and dragging a matching large blue container out down stairs.
A complete bone examination conducted by Medical Examiner’s Office revealed two wedge-shaped tool marks on multiple ribs indicating she had been stabbed by an object such as knife.
After vacating his apartment Defendant Griffin moved Arkansas began new job driving truck but taken into custody September 17 when returned area check-in bonding agency separate criminal matter
Immediately following guilty verdict DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Asha F Jackson who presided over trial sentenced Defendant Griffin life prison plus ten years
The case assigned Homicide Gangs Unit prosecuted Senior Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Scacco assistance Senior Assistant District Attorney Furhawn Shah District Attorney Investigator Antoine Winston Victim Advocate Christy Palmer DKPD Det Hoyt led initial investigation
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