Prosecution continues in Grant murder trial
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The prosecution continued its case against Pima businessman Doug Grant throughout December and is expected to do the same when the court reconvenes Jan. 5 after its holiday break.
Grant is accused of drowning his wife, Faylene Eaves Grant, in the bathtub of their Gilbert home on Sept. 21, 2001. He was indicted in 2005 and has maintained his innocence.
Maricopa County Prosecutor Juan Martinez told the jury during his opening statements that Grant killed Faylene so he could be with another woman, Hilary Dewitt. Martinez maintains Grant never broke off the relationship he began with Dewitt while divorced from Faylene. Grant remarried Faylene at a casino in Las Vegas in July 2001. Less than a month after Faylene’s passing, Grant married Hilary.
During his opening statements, Martinez painted a grim picture of what occurred the day Faylene died. He said Grant was drowning Faylene as her daughter attempted to enter the locked bedroom that morning. He also said Grant allegedly yelled, “Just let her die,” when he saw resuscitation efforts being performed at the hospital.
Other prosecution witnesses have testified to what occurred the day Faylene died, including her daughter, Jenna Stradling, first-responders from the Gilbert Fire Department and Grant’s friend, physician’s assistant Chad White. Stradling testified for several days at the end of November, Gilbert Fire Department captains Paul Johnson and Dan Reynolds testified Dec. 3 and 4, and White has had several days of testimony through mid-December.
The fire captains described the scene at the Grants’ house as one they had never encountered before. They said Grant’s demeanor was unusual and oddly calm for a man who had just discovered his wife drowned in their bathtub.
According to an article in the Phoenix New Times, White testified that after prescribing the muscle relaxant Soma, the Grants asked if he could write a prescription to help Faylene sleep if the Soma didn’t help. White testified he instructed Grant not to fill the prescription for the sleep-aid Ambien unless the Soma failed to assist with sleep. Faylene had the entire prescription of Ambien in her system when she died.
Martinez then played a 911 recording in which White told the operator Grant hadn’t called the emergency hotline because he was afraid to do so.
The prosecution is expected to continue its case when the trial reconvenes at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 5 in a courtroom in Downtown Phoenix.
