After fatally shooting his father in their shared Fayette County home last year, Griffin Leach took a brief moment before deciding to buy beer at a nearby convenience store, prosecutors said.
The 24-year-old eventually returned, grabbed some gasoline and set fire to the Fayetteville residence in January 2023 in order to cover up the killing of 49-year-old William Leach, according to the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. Officials said he lied to responding law enforcement that his father had shot himself after burning the home on Porter Road, which was surrounded by caution tape for months after the incident.
On Thursday, following a week-long trial, Griffin Leach was found guilty of murder and arson in connection with the death of his father, who was lying in his bed when was shot, the DA’s office said. Superior Court Judge W. Fletcher Sams then sentenced the son to life in prison, plus 35 years…