A Sedgwick County judge on Friday ordered a Wichita man to serve more than 56 years in prison for killing a couple during a drug-fueled argument at an east-side motel last year.
John A. Griffin III, 22, entered an Alford plea in October to second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of 35-year-old Christopher Harrell and 35-year-old Natisha Phillips at the Blue Way Inn & Suites, 7321 E. Kellogg Drive in Wichita.
He was also convicted of two counts of aggravated battery for harm caused to two other people, according to a news release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea that allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to potentially win a conviction.
Court records say Griffin had been living with the Wichita couple at the motel and selling illegal narcotics with them out of their room when a fight broke out on Feb. 24, 2024. Griffin reportedly shot the couple during a struggle with Harrell over the couple’s gun and then fled from the room, leaving their toddler son unharmed.
Phillips, who was shot in the head, died in an ambulance in the motel parking lot. Harrell died at a hospital from a gunshot wound to the neck.
Harrell and Griffin were both high on methamphetamine when the shooting happened, court records say.
In addition to serving 673 months in prison, Griffin must also pay around $8,500 in restitution, the DA’s news release says. Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush imposed the sentence.
John A. Griffin III
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