‘DIDN'T DESERVE THIS’

Mississippi Hostage Situation Ends With Infant, 9-Year-Old Shot Dead

“He put a pillow over her head and shot her in her head,” a family member said of the slayings.

A family member of one of the two children slain Monday morning in Jonestown, Mississippi, says the kids’ alleged killer “put a pillow” over the infant before he “shot her in the head.” The grisly details emerged later Monday, after police announced that Marquez Griffin, 25, had been taken into custody on murder charges after a standoff with police where he allegedly held a third child at gunpoint. The slain children were not identified by authorities, but Melrose Haile said one of the victims was her granddaughter, 1-year-old Averi Jones. “I just want everyone to know that Averi was a sweet baby,” Haile told WREG 3. “She didn’t deserve this.” Cops have released few details about the incident, including a potential motive by Griffin. A release from the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office said the third child’s life was saved after a responding off-duty officer successfully negotiated with Griffin. Cops didn’t say how Griffin knew the children, but Haile said he was a friend of Jones’ mother.