Dad Accused in Burning Death of Girl
Repo...@home.net
wire:
Dad Accused in Burning Death of Girl
APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. (AP) - A Phoenix man doused his sleeping daughter
with
gasoline, then burned her to death after taking the toddler on a drive
to look
at Christmas lights, authorities said.
Kristen Salem was found dead near a desert road early Friday.
Authorities said
the 2-year-old appeared to have crawled 10 feet from where she was set
on fire.
Maricopa County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Dave Trombi said Friday that
the
girl's father, Shawn Grell, 24, had admitted killing her and turned
himself in.
``He had no reason. He had no answer,'' Trombi said. ``He basically said
he
didn't know why he did it.''
Police said there were no indications of domestic problems between Grell
and
the mother, who he lived with. The arrest affidavit said Grell was upset
about
being fired.
Kristen was reported missing Thursday afternoon when her mother arrived
to pick
her up from day care. Investigators say Grell had already taken the
girl,
saying they were going to look at Christmas lights.
Grell purchased a gasoline can, stopped at a McDonald's and then at a
gas
station, where he filled the container, Trombi said.
They drove until Kristen fell asleep in the car, then Grell stopped,
placed her
in the dirt near a church, doused her with gasoline and lit her on fire,
Trombi
said.
Grell was arrested early Friday on suspicion of driving under the
influence. He
was released but later turned himself in and told investigators he had
killed
his daughter, Trombi said.
AP-NY-12-03-99
----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 12/6/99 online edition of The
Arizona
Republic newspaper:
Phoenix man kills wife, self
Quiet neighborhood shocked by shootings
By Peter Ortiz
and Lisa Gonderinger
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 6, 1999
Dr. Philip Skiba, 64, and Katherine, 47, were the couple that gave out
toothbrushes and toothpaste for Halloween, as befits a dentist and his
wife.
They played tennis and went camping. He was known to have a gentle
nature, she
to be generous.
So it stunned Phoenix neighbors and family Sunday when police said that
Skiba
had fatally shot his wife of 22 years before killing himself.
"It was a shock to me," said Katherine Skiba's sister, Diane Mark. "We
really
don't know what the whole situation was."
The domestic slaying caps a spate of at least seven family-related
killings
since Wednesday across the Valley.
Saturday's murder-suicide near Squaw Peak was discovered by the couple's
daughter, Laura, who found blood in the bathroom after going into the
home at
2211 E. Myrtle Ave. about 7 p.m. Saturday, Mark said.
Mark said she was close to her older sister and knew of no problems that
would
lead her brother-in-law to kill his wife. The couple were described as
good
parents in a quiet community where front lawns are dotted with desert
plants
and the Squaw Peak looms.
Philip appeared to love to garden. He once captured several troublesome
racoons
and drove to a park to set them free.
Katherine had been a Brownie leader, neighbors said. She loved to sew
and once
lent a costume she designed to a neighbor.
Diane Mote watched the Skibas' two daughters grow up alongside her
children and
recalled how the couple took her own daughter on their vacation. They
were her
neighbors for 12 years.
"This is just a terrible tragedy," Mote said.
In other reports of recent domestic slayings, a father was accused of
setting
fire to his 2-year-old girl Thursday in Apache Junction; a Phoenix
machine-shop
worker was arrested Thursday on charges that he fatally shot two people
in the
far West Valley, one of them the ex-wife of a relative; a Mesa woman was
stabbed to death by her estranged husband early Saturday, police said;
and a
Phoenix woman stabbed her husband to death Friday afternoon after he
beat her
over the head with a hammer, police said.
The murder of 2-year-old Kristin Salem, whose father is accused of
dousing her
with gasoline and setting her on fire, continued Sunday to draw
kindnesses from
strangers.
A second carwash held to raise money attracted lines of cars. It
included a
visit and donation from Sheriff Joe Arpaio. A funeral home offered a
free
funeral service.
The girl's father, Shawn Ryan Grell, 24, denied media requests to be
interviewed. He was being held in an isolation cell at the Madison
Street Jail
on suspicion of first-degree murder.
He turned himself in Friday, admitting to picking up Kristin from day
care,
taking her to the desert, dousing her with gasoline and setting her on
fire.
John Pavlek, a funeral director of Camino del Sol chapel in Sun City
West,
offered a free funeral.
"We always take care of infants and babies for free, and this case was
just so
heartbreaking we had to see if there was anything we could do," Pavlek
said. He
said Salem's mother, Amber, had not started making funeral arrangements,
but
she took his card.
A funeral usually costs about $1,000 for a child, he said.
"They shouldn't have to go through the expense or take care of these
details,
especially at Christmastime," Pavlek said.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 12/7/99 online edition of The
KFYI,
local TalkRadio 910 Arizona radio station web site:
TODAY'S POLL- Father accused of burning girl to death
On Friday, 2-year-old Kristen Salem was picked up at day care by her
father,
Shawn Ryan Grell, who told her he was taking her to Mesa to see the
Christmas
lights at the Mormon temple. Then, according to his confession, Grell
drove to
the desert, took Kristen sleeping from the car, placed her on the
ground,
doused her with gasoline and set her tiny body ablaze. She crawled 10
feet
before the flames consumed her. Grell is said to be slightly retarded
and
suffering from mental illness. If convicted, should he get the death
penalty?
Yes, there is no excuse for such a heinous crime
No, he committed the crime because of a mental impairment