Jury finds 3 aggravators in Grant case
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After finding Douglas D. Grant guilty of manslaughter on March 24, the six-man and six-woman jury on Tuesday guaranteed a prison term sentence as it found him guilty of three aggravating circumstances. The aggravators could cause Grant to be sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Grant was on trial for the death of his second wife, Faylene Eaves Grant, who drowned in the couple's bathtub of their Gilbert home Sept. 27, 2001.
He will be sentenced by Maricopa Superior Court Judge Margaret Mahoney on May 1. The sentencing structure for Grant's class-2 nondangerous felony manslaughter conviction calls for a presumptive term of five years in prison with a maximum sentence of 10 years and a super-maximum of 12.5 years.
According to the official minutes from the Maricopa County Superior Court, Grant's attorney, Mel McDonald, objected to Grant’s being taken into custody after he was convicted March 24. Judge Mahoney said Grant would likely be sentenced to a prison term and ordered his release conditions revoked. Grant was then remanded into the custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
After his conviction, he took the stand in his own defense during the aggravation phase of the trial and asked for leniency from the jury as he recounted what happened that fateful day.
Grant tearfully testified he found Faylene in the bathtub and immediately pulled her out.
"I grabbed her out, and I ran over to the side of the bed," Grant testified. "I laid her on the side of the bed and immediately started CPR. I know CPR – I've known it since I was a kid, and I've done it many times."
According to the American Red Cross, a person should call for emergency assistance before beginning CPR. Another tip is to make sure the victim is lying on a flat, hard surface so the rescuer can push down the required 1.5 to 2 inches for each compression.
According to the 911 emergency dispatch service, Grant did not call 911 that day. He called physician's assistant Chad White, who had prescribed the sleep aid Ambien to Faylene. White called 911 while en route to the Grants' home. A toxicology report stated Faylene had five times the recommended dosage of Ambien in her system when she died.
According to local paramedics, attempting to perform CPR with a victim lying on a forgiving surface such as a bed would be extremely difficult.
The jury, which was unable to agree on a verdict of first-degree murder or murder in the second degree, unanimously agreed on three aggravators. The aggravators are that Grant committed his offense in an especially cruel manner, that he committed his offense for monetary gain and that his offense caused emotional and financial harm to his victim's immediate family.
Phoenix news channel 3 KTVK posted an unedited video on its Web site of the jurors answering reporters’ questions. In the video, the jurors stated the biggest red flag that made them begin to consider he was guilty was the fact he called White when he discovered Faylene instead of calling 911. Several jurors also said they found Grant's testimony insincere and his current wife, Hilary's, lack of emotion odd.
Grant's brother, Vaughn Grant, told the Courier the Eaves and Grant families experienced a tragedy when Faylene died and that the tragedy has continued with the jury's verdict. He quoted a jury member who stated while "nothing was proven," the jury's abhorrence of Grant and its "gut feeling" had a role in the conviction.
"Most people believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty and that a jury must rule only for guilt if they find the evidence to be beyond a reasonable doubt," Vaughn wrote in an e-mail to the Courier. "The families are grieving the loss of a loved one from years ago and continue to grieve over apparent unjust proceedings. We will continue to prove Doug's innocence and appreciate the love and support so many in this Valley have offered to all those who have suffered loss."
