Fayette County

Georgia man convicted of murdering father, setting house on fire to cover it up

By WSBTV.com News Staff

GRIFFIN LEACH

By WSBTV.com News Staff

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — Less than a week after being convicted, a Fayette County man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his father.

According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Griffin Leach killed his father and set the house on fire to try to cover it up.

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The murder he was convicted of happened on Jan. 12, 2023. That day, deputies were sent to help with a fire call at a home on Porter Road.

When deputies arrived at the house, they found it fully engulfed in flames. During an investigation of the house, they found a body in the master bedroom.

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Deputies stopped Leach, seeing him driving back and forth past the house. When he was stopped, Leach told deputies that his father had committed suicide and set the house on fire, according to the sheriff’s office, but deputies found a revolver in his possession.

“A .38 special revolver was recovered from the defendant’s truck. Forensic testing later showed that the bullet recovered from the victim’s body had been fired from the .38 special found in the defendant’s possession,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Officials said an extensive investigation led by the FCSO Criminal Investigations Division ended up with Leach charged for the murder his father and using arson to try and cover it up.

Leach was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, arson and concealing the death of another on Sept. 12.

On Sept. 18, Leach was sentenced to a life sentence plus 35 years consecutively, without the chance for parole.

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