Allison Griffor

 

 

Benefit set for Griffor brothers

Christmas Day will mark two months since 5-year-old Allison Griffor was fatally shot as she slept in her bed, and a fundraiser Sunday aims to make sure her brothers get plenty of presents this holiday.

The benefit, called "Angels for Allison," promises live music from 1 to 7 p.m. at Plan B in the Ashley Town Center in West Ashley. Anyone who brings a gift for brothers, 7-year-old Aiden or 2-year-old Lucas, gets in free; otherwise, it's $5 at the door.

Allison, a kindergartner at Drayton Hall Elementary School, died following an attempted home invasion Oct. 25 at her family's house on Pierpont Avenue in West Ashley. Someone kicked the front door about 1 a.m., and as Allison's father walked toward the noise, the intruder opened fire with a shotgun.

Several buckshot pellets traveled through the door, through a wall and into Allison's head as she slept in her bed in a room she shared with her two brothers. She died two days later at Medical University Hospital after brain scans did not show any activity.

Her killer remains at large.

William and Jennifer Griffor moved their family back to their home state of Michigan after the attack. Family friend Richard Douglas plans to deliver the presents collected Sunday in time for Christmas.

Douglas said he also will gather donations to add to an existing $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case.

Sunday's benefit includes kids' games and free admission for children 10 years and younger.

The rock band Top Jimmy will headline the day; other performers scheduled are Hot Sauce, Sound Dogs, Trick Knee and Joe Cooke. Proceeds from raffles and a silent auction also will help the Griffor family.

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Sheriff confident

The killer of 5-year-old Allison Griffor will be caught, Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said this week.

Cannon vowed in October that the person who fired a shotgun through a West Ashley home's door early on Oct. 25, fatally wounding Griffor in her bed, will pay for the crime.

No arrest has been made, but Cannon said, "The investigation is proceeding as it should, and we are confident we are doing the things we need to do. We are confident will are narrowing the search" for a suspect.

Cannon was asked about the Griffor case during a press conference concerning an unrelated matter. He said that neither the investigation nor reward money offered for information in the Griffor case turned up the tip needed to identify the suspect.

Investigators have said the shooting may have been part of a home invasion robbery gone awry.