The true crime Halloween horror story of an Ohio family.
In 2010, 16-year-old Devon Griffin lived with his mom (Susan Liske) and stepdad (Bill Liske) in Oak Harbor, Ohio. However, he had spent Halloween weekend at his father's house.
On Sunday morning October 31st, he stopped by his home to change shirts for church. As he walked up his driveway, he ran into his step-brother, B.J. Liske, who had spent the Saturday before hunting with his father Bill Liske.
The two exchanged a few words before Devon went inside the home and changed his shirt. His mom and stepdad had a Halloween party the night before so B.J. was the only person awake. Devon quickly changed shirts and headed to church where he was part of a musical performance scheduled for that Sunday morning.
After church Devon said his good-byes to his father and headed back to his mother's home. He quietly made his way upstairs to his room and began playing video games. After playing for a while, he decided it was time to wake his mom up.
Devon walked down the hall to his parent's room and peeked in. It appeared his mom and stepdad were still sleeping. Devon began speaking in an attempt to wake his mom up. When that didn't work, he made his way to their bed and that's when he realized they must be playing a Halloween prank on him. His mom's pillow appeared to be blood soaked, thinking about putting an end to the prank, he yanked back the covers expecting his mother to yell, "Got you!"
That did not happen.
Devon saw a heartbreaking scene. He began screaming and crying in complete shock as he ran from the room. He called his aunt who called 911 and soon the grisly details of the real life horror this family had experienced would come to light.
Upon investigation, police would find Devon's mother and stepfather both deceased in bed from multiple gunshot wounds.
As they explored the house further, they came to the locked door of 23-year-old, Derek Griffin. Derek was Devon's older brother. Police kicked in the door to find Derek's lifeless body curled in the fetal position facing the wall.
He had been bludgeoned with a heavy object. The only person not found deceased was Devon's step-brother, B.J., whom he had encountered briefly that morning while retrieving a shirt for church.
Thinking back, Devon realized their encounter was a bit odd. B.J. who never spoke to him and was typically gloomy and down cast was all smiles that Sunday morning. Police found this encounter strange too; as there were well documented problems between B.J. and his stepmother Susan.
B.J., who was 24 years old at the time, was known to have behavioral problems and there was a history of fights within the family.
Although B.J. had moved out of the home due to these problems, his father Bill never gave up on him and would frequently reach out and attempt to spend some time with his troubled son. This was what had brought B.J. to the home that weekend for hunting.
After hunting, B.J. stayed for their Halloween party. According to everyone in attendance, the family was in "good spirits with everyone getting along fine". After the party broke up, Bill felt like he had too many drinks to give his son B.J. a ride home and made up the sofa so he could spend the night. Police noted the sofa was still made up and looked like it hadn't been used.
Within hours of the discovery, police found B.J. in his dad's truck at the family's cabin. He was taken into custody and charged with the homicides. Police were able to recover the .22 caliber weapon used in the deaths of Bill and Susan. They also found a bloodied hammer hidden in a closet at the home.
Neighbors reported hearing banging which may have been gunshots at around 6:30 a.m. Devon missed a grisly fate by only moments that Sunday morning before church.
The exact motive for these Halloween morning attacks remain unclear. During a recorded conversation with his mother, B.J. is heard saying he wasn't in his right mind before abruptly telling his mother he couldn't talk anymore.
That was the last call B.J. made to his mother before changing his plea to guilty. Police theorized B.J. had taken the life of Derek first, with the hammer, so his parents wouldn't hear. He then took their lives with a fire arm. We will never know what exactly pushed B.J. to commit such a heinous crime as he took his own life in prison in 2015.
Our thoughts are with Devon, Susan, Bill, Derek and everyone who knew this family.
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