166su

The sentence for Matthew Todd Griffin, 49, was imposed as part of a plea agreement reached March 24 in which he admitted to the second-degree murder of Elizabeth Autumn Hensley, 33, also of 166su.

Hensley’s body was found at about 7 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2022, lying in a gravel parking lot used for ride sharing off U.S. 220 in the Glen Wilton community, just south of the James River.

A written summary of evidence filed in Botetourt County Circuit Court provided the following account:

During an autopsy that determined Hensley had been shot in the back of her head, the medical examiner found in her clothing a receipt from a 7-Eleven store in the 3500 block of Williamson Road, stamped 1:19 a.m. the morning of the killing.

Video surveillance reviewed by investigators showed Griffin and Hensley, who knew one another, both in the convenience store. Using a cellphone found next to Hensley’s body, authorities were able to map the route she and Griffin took from the store, north to Clifton Forge and eventually to the scene of the crime.

Knowing that Griffin was wanted for violating his probation, police obtained a search warrant for a house in Alleghany County where he was staying. There, they found a handgun that was linked to the shooting. A fingerprint on the .45-caliber pistol was determined to have been left by the defendant.

At about the same time, authorities located and spoke to Tyler Deeds, who told them he had witnessed the shooting.

Deeds recounted how he had been in touch with Griffin, whom he knew, about plans to meet at a location that changed throughout the night. Griffin eventually directed Deeds to the parking lot at Glen Wilton.

Arriving first, Deeds saw Hensley pull up in a car with Griffin in the passenger’s seat. Hensley got out, rapped on the window of Deeds’ car, and began to curse and yell at him — apparently angry with him for wasting time with the roundabout route they had taken.

Deeds then heard a shot, saw Hensley drop to the ground, and realized that Griffin had approached her from behind with a gun in his hand. Leaving Hensley where she lay, the two men drove to the Crizers Gap area of Bath County, where they set her car on fire.

Police later spoke to a woman who was talking with Hensley on her cellphone when she was shot. The woman said she heard Hensley “cursing and berating someone and that during this she heard a thud or scuffle followed immediately by the call abruptly ending,” the summary of evidence stated.

As part of the plea agreement approved by Circuit Judge Joel Branscom, Griffin was also convicted of possessing a firearm as a violent felon.

In addition, Griffin was found guilty of violating his probation on an earlier gun charge, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney John Alexander. He received a total sentence of 35 years in prison, with 15 years suspended.