Sinners Among Saints
Hey Sinners! It's us, Megan Keyes and Lindsay Martinez.
Welcome to "Sinners Among Saints," the chilling true crime podcast that delves deep into the dark underbelly of society. Created by two best friends hailing from Utah, who share a passion for all things horror, this podcast aims to shed light on the victims of heinous crimes that often go unnoticed.
Join us as we navigate through the twisted tales of real-life monsters and the innocent souls they prey on. With meticulous research, compelling storytelling, and a lighthearted feeling of chasing with friends, "Sinners Among Saints" takes you on an immersive journey into the darkest corners of humanity. From unsolved mysteries to well-known cases, we explore the sinister motives, mind-bending twists, and relentless pursuit of justice.
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Sinners Among Saints
Episode 74: The Murder of Kent Griffith
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They say laughter is the best medicine, but sometimes it's the shared silence in remembrance that speaks volumes. Join us, Lindsay and Megan, as we recount an epic eight-hour recording marathon with a fellow podcast team, transforming into an experience filled with joy, camaraderie, and the occasional yearning for a cozy blanket. We didn't just exchange witty banter; we dug deep into the drama-fueled lives of reality show couple Evelyn and Duncan, and paid homage to a true community pillar, Kent Griffith—whose tale of kindness and forgiveness after a workplace tragedy will leave you both inspired and reflective. Kent's story, a beacon of resilience and forgiveness, stands as a testament to his family's strength. The Griffith's grace in the face of devastating loss provides a sobering and powerful narrative, revealing the intricacies of human behavior, the challenges of sudden single parenting, and the remarkable solidarity that emerges from the community of Pleasant Grove in times of sorrow.
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Centers Among Saints Collaboration Experience
Speaker 1Hi guys, I'm Lindsay and I'm Megan and this is Centers Among Saints. Welcome back, guys. Hey, hopefully you guys all loved our collaboration, yeah, episode.
Speaker 2I hope you guys liked it. It was long. I get it. I don't know if you like it or if you don't like it Some people like the long episodes. We love the long episodes Because I mean I do when I'm at work. So I get that, but some people don't. So I hope it was a good make sure of you. But it was a long episode. It was fun.
Speaker 1It was really fun and we hope you liked it, because we would like to do it again, yeah, so give us some feedback, though, let us know. Yeah, we think that those guys were so funny and they were. It was a really long episode, but you guys have no idea, because we actually recorded. It was like eight hours.
Speaker 2We got to the like location for recording at 5pm and we got home from or not home but like back to our room at two in the morning, 2am.
Speaker 1So you guys and we got there and it was like I mean, we ate? Yeah, we had dinner but then we went like straight down to there. They have like a little basement studio setup yeah, and it took us a minute to get like all of our mics and stuff set up, yeah. But the rest of that time we were just chit chatting.
Speaker 2It was literally like three hours before we even started our case. And then we did the case and there was lots of and, yeah, and just the amount of time I'm sure he has to edit afterwards, yeah.
Speaker 1Is Insane, insane, insane. The how they cut it down from like eight hours to two hours and 48 minutes, or whatever it was, I am actually very impressed because it was a lot, yeah, but it felt like it went fast. Like when we walked out I was like I can't believe it's this time because, no, it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2Yeah, it was a lot of fun and they're hilarious and they're just like super easy to like be around, yeah.
Speaker 1It wasn't.
Speaker 2We were like kind of worried because me and Lindsay are so awkward we're like she's going to be so awkward, like I don't know, and his wife was there, you know. She's like kind of on the show and we're just like this is so awkward. But like as soon as we met, they like hugged us and like everyone was so warm and like friendly and it was. It was a lot of fun. So we'd like to do it again. Yeah.
Speaker 1And his wife was awesome. She was so awesome. Just was like so fun she was and they're like and I mean, sorry guys, if you listen to this, but she's actually the favorite on when I've listened to their podcast because she doesn't say as much as them. But every time she says something it's like either hysterical or like right on point, and it I feel like it's what I'm thinking in my head, yeah. And then she voices it out loud and I'm like, yes, joss.
Speaker 2Yes, I'm with you.
Speaker 1And I felt like that was the same when we were recording, yeah, and I just, I just really, I really liked them. So we're hoping that you guys liked it, and I know it was like something a little bit new, but it was great to get their perspective.
Speaker 2It was. Yeah, it was fun. They had great stories and, yeah, all sorts of shenanigans yeah, so it was a lot of fun. It was fun we really, really freaking cold.
Speaker 1Oh my god, it was freezing.
Speaker 2It was so cold by the time we left I was like my toes are so cold.
Speaker 1We went upstairs at one point like four hours in, to take a pee break and I was like do you think I can grab a blanket off your couch because I am like frozen?
Speaker 1Yeah it was. It was so cold, it was, but it was a lot of fun. Then you walk up their stairs and it was like this like oh, so warm, but it was at their basement and it's unfinished yeah, so it was like it was freezing. Yeah, it's like if we ever fly out here and do this again, I'm bringing like some sweats.
Speaker 2Oh yeah, for sure. Like comfy clothes and we're getting real cozy, yeah, but it's a nice like big space. Yeah, it was really good. It was you know, and they are set up because they do a lot of, they bring people on their podcast a lot, yeah, so they had, like, this space for all of that, which was nice, and it was a big open area, so it was a lot of fun, but, yeah, it was really fun.
Speaker 1Hope you guys liked it. But, yeah, give us some feedback and please go and like and give us five stars. Yeah, and you can actually wherever you listen, like I listen on Spotify, megan does Apple or whatever my husband does Amazon, I do the Amazon. Oh, you do the Amazon.
Speaker 2I get a lot of them early.
Speaker 1My husband does. I just talked about it. I heart radio app but wherever you go, there's like a little button that you can push where it automatically will download our episodes. Yeah, so that that way, like if you're ever driving and you lose like service, we're always there for you. Yeah, you can just pop us on. So go and hit that, give us five star review, share everything with your friends and go sign up for our Patreon because we have had such good feedback. We have week with our after dark episode.
Speaker 2Yeah, so we just released our first after dark episode. That one was audio only. From now on, it should be video as well, if you want to check that out, or you can just listen to us if you don't want to look at our faces, which is fine, yeah. But we've had tons of like really good feedback and people really enjoyed it and it's just very lighthearted, just kind of whatever we, you know, it's just kind of shooting the shit after the show. Yeah, just kind of get to. There's a lot of shots shooting the shit after the show that should be.
Speaker 1that's what we should. Yeah, shooting the shit after the show. Try and say that 12 times fast. I don't know why I picked 12. I know I was like 12 is a lot. Usually it's three.
Speaker 2I usually say you know, but 12. Try to say that 100 times fast and see how well you do Bet. You can't Bet no cap, yeah, anyways, anywho.
Speaker 1So I just have to complain to Megan for just a minute because she so I have watched buried it first night forever. Yeah, I love that show Love it and I also watch. Oh, what's the one where they're in the pods? I just started a new one on Netflix. Why can't I think of the name?
Speaker 2of it. Is this the love is blind?
Speaker 1Yes, I've never seen it, but I've seen all of that one too.
Speaker 2I've seen all the things about this girl, chelsea girl, who says she looked like Megan Fox.
Speaker 1Megan Fox, oh yeah, and she totally does not at all and at all, but I just started the first episode today because I had to find something else to watch, because I was like three quarters of the way done with this new married at first sight Australia, which I have never seen and, by the way, I think it's way better than the.
Speaker 2American version so good.
Speaker 1And it is like so much drama, so much, it's insane. So I'm hooked and I'm like texting Megan throughout the week like I hate this guy and I hate this girl and what is happening here. So I get on. I never get to watch TV. I've never had like me time, and sometimes at work I'll get done just enough time to go watch like 20 minutes while I eat my lunch. And I have that time today.
Speaker 2So I went outside.
Speaker 1Try to log on, look it up, like it's not coming up, like something I've recently watched, like it always does. I log on and I'm like what? The it's gone. I search it no Married at first sight. Australia has been taken off of the lifetime app.
Speaker 2So now I'm like no, I'm so upset because once you get to the end, like some shit really wraps up. That's like super dramatic the whole thing, and so I'm like waiting for her to get to the end so that we can have this discussion. And now we can, and now we can't. It's like blue balls of like reality TV. Oh me because.
Speaker 1I'm like what the hell? I have watched this many hours of the show and so I was telling Megan like normally at night I either get to pick to watch something that I am watching, or typically what happens is me and my husband watch a show together, or on the weekends we'll watch our show together, because we just don't get a lot of like TV time.
Speaker 1I don't get a lot of downtime and so we always like try and do that together. Well, this week I've been totally ignoring him and I'm like, nope, I want to watch my show. He's like do you want to watch something? Nope, nope, nope. I'm just gonna put my headphones in and I watch it on my phone and I'm like hooked, you guys hooked.
Speaker 2Is it so dramatic? I love it. And they do it a little different than the way the American one does Very different. They do it every week to kind of decide if they want to stay or leave. And if one couple one of the people in the couple decides to leave but the other one decides to stay, then then the other person has to stay for another week. They're stuck and they do a dinner party like every week. The night before then they have like their ceremony and so it's done just like very different and they don't meet with the experts a lot throughout.
Speaker 1It's weird, and it seems to me at least, that the experts have no clue what's happening. Right, because they get to the dinner party, yeah and then they're like seeing everybody talking all the drama coming out and then they're like.
Speaker 2they're like no, because of the dinner party the couples come in right, and if so, when people are fighting, sometimes they'll come in alone and then they're like, oh no, what's happened. But the American I do like the American one in that they meet with the experts a lot.
Speaker 1Yes, and they have a lot and they're more advice and if they have a big fight, they'll call the experts.
Speaker 2Yeah, I'm now. I'm watching the newest season of married at first sight like the American one, so I love that. Like this couple has an argument and they call Pastor Cal and they're like we need help. Help us getting through this.
Speaker 1Whereas the one in Australia does it. I do too. I love him so much. He's like Dr Drew and then Pastor Cal. Yes, I love both of those people. He's like not afraid to call the guys out on their shit, and I love him.
Speaker 2Yeah, and they're new. They have a new like sex therapist. Oh, and I've really liked her. Okay, a lot, all right. Really really liked her a lot.
Speaker 1I'm excited to see that one, but I thought I shouldn't start it because they'll just cut me off anyways.
Speaker 2But in the Australian one I like that they have a lot of older people who have also been divorced and who have kids. Yes, so it's like a little bit. It's not just young people who have never really like had you know. I liked that in the Australian one, like there's a handful of people in there that have kids or older like the I can't Melissa and she was crazy, she was terrible.
Speaker 1Huh, her husband was so nice Okay. Thank you because at first so nice.
Speaker 2At first I was like he's kind of dorky, but then once you kind of get to see him, he's actually kind of cute. He is kind of cute and he's like so dorky, like in their honeymoon. He's wearing what was it like? Toy Story pajamas?
Speaker 1Yes, but he's like so, he's like just so he seems like genuine good man and nice and like wanted. I felt like he tried so hard he did and he really wanted just like marriage.
Speaker 2Just all she wanted was sex, yeah, sex sex, sex, sex, sex, sex.
Speaker 1Even when they were having sex, she was like this isn't enough, because the sex didn't mean anything.
Speaker 2Yeah, what? What? It was like he couldn't win. What planet are you like?
Speaker 1Yeah, and he just like she just like was so mean to him and was berated him. Yeah, in front of everybody.
Speaker 2Yeah, I was like what did you do? Happening so they're off the show now, right, at least you got to see that.
Speaker 1Yeah, so we're gonna talk about some spoiler alerts right now, because yeah, we have to talk a little bit about this Maybe we should save it for after dark. But maybe I wanted. I just want to know, because I Don't know what happens with Alyssa and Duncan, but Duncan is like the perfect man. Oh my god in the world, her, oh and she, and so needy and crazy, and she's from Utah, she is.
Speaker 2Of course you are well, and the experts say several times throughout the whole show how Emotionally intelligent this man is and that he is the most emotionally intelligent man on the show, show and he like in the world.
Speaker 1I really think he really is.
Speaker 2And is he not beautiful? Oh Sorry.
Speaker 1Mario, but he is Gorgeous, he is like everything.
Speaker 2He's definitely way younger than me, but his personality.
Speaker 1He just so like, so funny and fun. And then so I just passed the part where they he like broke down and started crying because she just like walked out on him again. They did this like little wife swap thing and he does this super cute like photo shoot, yeah, and tries just to do something nice.
Speaker 2Yeah, so okay. So the wife's what thing? Because it sounds like they just switched wives to have sex with. But the but, the Challenge in the show was that they took the couples all everyone on the show and like they switched wives with people so that they could live With another partner for a week and just kind of get it, maybe, a new perspective on their own Three days, oh yeah three days and just a new perspective, like on their relationship.
Speaker 2They could talk to someone kind of about what they're dealing with. It was I kind of to try and help them in their own relationship and maybe get like an like step outside of what they're dealing with and see other people and Anyway. So they go and they do this and he who was he matched up with? I can't remember.
Speaker 1The really super hot one, that's the model.
Speaker 2Oh the yeah, evelyn yeah, evelyn, so he's with her and she's like we should do this photo shoot because she's a model, so she's like used to doing that, so she has the way she's like Gorgeous. She is really pretty, yeah, there. She's gorgeous, yeah, yeah, and her her husband was like the most Nervous guy at the altar.
Speaker 1That will ever be. I thought that she was gonna leave him at the altar and she has been like so nice. She really is. Yeah, like the whole I love her.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah. Anyway, so they did a photo shoot and he's like in, just like just a Well, it looks like just an apron. I'm gonna say a robe, it's just an apron and like they're throwing flower on him and it's like this cute, like kind of sensual.
Speaker 1But like funny, funny, he has a rose at his mouth and he puts that.
Speaker 2he puts the, the KitchenAid mixer, right where, yeah, it's like it's so cute and he's like so excited for her to come back after the three days cooking lesson.
Speaker 2They got yeah and yeah and he got like cooking lessons for them to do together. He has this little like photo shoot that's put together Like a gift for her when she comes back and he's like missed her so much and so excited and she just comes back and is a bitch, yeah, she like, and he's like so excited to give it to her and she's just like closed off and she's like thanks cuz she.
Speaker 2What was this one? She was mad just because they did the switch right. No, what was it? She was mad. It's always something so stupid.
Speaker 1I don't even remember, like though it was something about oh, because they hadn't had the talk about what was gonna happen and he didn't. She didn't think that Duncan realized that her kid was gonna be.
Speaker 2I had to hear.
Speaker 1If I had to hear one more time that she had a fucking kid, I was gonna throw up she's told her that, like so many times, so many times, understand, like your kid is number one and that's how it should be and that is awesome.
Speaker 2I am so happy to be number two, yeah, and just be like a part of your life, yeah, oh, my god, I had to hear she, they would go to like the couch so they would be talking about things or whatever like on their, their ceremony day, and she would always be like, yeah, I am a mom. I have a kid and I was like, oh my god, shut up Like then go home.
Speaker 1Yeah, it was. It was so bad kid then they do this retreat.
Speaker 2We're like that all the couples go to this like really cool place, like a retreat place, and they're just like hanging out with each other, like everyone's just hanging out the boys at one day like are kind of out, kind of Doing a lot of stuff together and they're out playing tennis, right, and so the girls are doing stuff, the boys are doing stuff and she literally like loses on him because he was out playing tennis and he didn't come in and check on her to see how like she was doing for the day.
Speaker 2And he's like why was? Like? You know, I was just playing tennis and she's like I didn't even know where you were. And then she says Something about him out playing tennis and he's like so you did know where I was. Why didn't you come and say something to me?
Speaker 1And then she's like well, like I'm not gonna come, like bother you, yeah, and like approach all the men like she's all shy about her Okay so he's like trying bugs me, she was so much and he is like perfect and I don't know what happens with them.
Speaker 2But anyways, afterwards I might have to give you. If you want, I give you the no. I have to figure out where to watch it, you don't have to figure out how we're to watch it Okay.
Speaker 1I'm so frustrated, so frustrated it is, it's anyways. I'm sorry guys, I've just been, that's been like building up and I haven't had that release with the show, so I had to just like have an emotional release really fast.
Speaker 2Yeah, we had a lot of time before the before I sat down to record for.
Speaker 1So weird reason we've been like, even though we just were together last.
Speaker 2I know like we, it's like we have skipped and we took a lot of time last yeah, last week.
Speaker 1Yeah, so I don't know, but Anywho yeah, anyways. So very sorry, very sorry, and just so you know, we talked for like two hours before we started recording. Oh yeah, I just haven't had a chance to talk about this and. I just had to talk about it, yep. So anyways, anywho.
Speaker 2I don't think we have any. We have someone who upped their patreon. Yes we do, we do, we do. So, sarah, thank you, yes, sarah.
Speaker 1Hopkins, thank you so much and then she actually listened. She was one of the people that commented on the after dark, so I'm glad you guys liked it.
Speaker 2Thank, you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1We might, we might end up doing it more than once a month.
The Gentle Giant
Speaker 2Let's be real, because yeah, I was, and it was all the time so and it was super easy to just could have been one of those just now, but Anyway.
Speaker 1so if you liked that little tangent, then for sure go sign up for our $10 tier, because you not only get the bonus episode but you get the after dark, yeah, and extra bonus content. Yeah so yeah, go sign up, please, we would like to support us we would love it.
Speaker 2We would love your support. Yeah, so, and we appreciate like Even my boyfriend was just saying he's like man, the people that you have like on your patreon, like they really like their loyal followers, like they are really and he's like and I he's like, I kind of feel like, too, that a lot of I'm just like support your patreon, just to support you, not necessarily because they want like the bonus content, like they just do because they like you guys.
Speaker 1I know it's so nice, like it makes you feel so good. We've only had, I think, one cancellation the whole time We've been doing this, yeah, so it's been great. So we really, really appreciate your support. You truly, truly have no idea how much. Oh, yeah, absolutely All right.
Speaker 1So this week we're back in Utah and we're covering this Case involving someone who was actually referred to as the gentle giant.
Speaker 1This was a request by our listener, sarah Hopkins. Thank you, this is like your episode, right, and she personally knew this family and was actually in their church ward when this tragedy struck, and I'm just gonna put this out there. I don't know that it's really a warning, but kind of a warning that people involved in this case are like the nicest, most genuine, most amazing people on this planet, and and this story is gonna make you feel all of the feels and realize how strong and compassionate Some people are despite facing Terrible and awful struggles and ordeals in their life, and I'm hoping that walking away from the story will want you to be a better person and Maybe be more forgiving or more Something in your life, because that's what it did for me, okay, even though it's a terrible murder, all right, well, so we'll see. We'll see how we do this, but Kent Griffith was born on April 14th 1967 in Provo, utah, to his loving parents, deanna and Dennis, and I don't know why I always think it's so cute when it's like kind of Alliteration.
Speaker 1Deanna and.
Speaker 2Dennis.
Speaker 1I love it. So they spent a Few years in Provo but then they ended up moving to Texas For most of Kent's younger years, okay and so they kind of raised their family there, and then the family moved again when he was 10 to Washington State. Kent was the eldest child and had three younger brothers, and so I was like I just I feel this mom so hard because. She has all these boys and boys. Sounds like they were all All boy, like they were very rambunctious.
Speaker 2Were they close in age.
Speaker 1It doesn't say it didn't say. It just said who was the oldest, probably yeah, I would imagine, cuz I feel like a lot of LDS people miss family was very LDS or is very LDS. Have them right around two years. Yeah, yep, it's like boom, boom, boom If they can right, yeah, for sure. So they all have all this energy and they were all said to be humongous Like Kent. Anywhere from the sources that I could find said he was between six five and six seven.
Speaker 2He's huge and he was like big built to the right I remember looking up a picture of him. Yeah, forever going to your request of this he's not like really skinny.
Speaker 1No, he's like football player, football player Big yep, and he does end up playing football, which we'll get into a little bit, but he's huge and Unfortunately there's not a lot of pictures that I can find online of him, yeah, and so I could really only find like one or two. Okay, so I have reached out to the family To see if they could share any more info. I'll give you a little bit more about that, but I haven't heard back yet, so I'm hoping that I can get some more pictures of the family. Okay, luckily for their parents, the boys decided to put their energy into sports. Yeah, and that's when Kent found this deep love for football. So some of his brothers played other sports. His was football. Okay, his high school team ended up winning the state championship, and then he graduated in 1985 and went on to play for Rick's College, which is in Idaho Uh-huh, it was at the time a two-year like community college, and has since been changed to BYU.
Speaker 1Idaho which is now a four-year university. Yes, at the time he did the two years there and then he played football for them. He did, he played defensive line and then he was able to transfer and play offensive line for BYU okay, in.
Speaker 2Provo, those are big boys, big boys. And our BYU, like around here in Utah, we get lots of like island boys, like they're big, yeah, so to be all line with them, like he's, he's a big guy, he's a big guy, big guy very big guy, but also said to be like the sweetest person that always is, isn't it like?
Speaker 1they're just, these like huge like he was literally Nicknamed the gentle giant.
Speaker 2Yeah like always these big kind of intimidating looking. Yeah, and then you meet him. You're like oh my god, he's like you're the biggest teddy bear.
Speaker 1I'm so sweet and nice that was Kent for sure. So in At BYU and a lot of people may not notice like recognize these names? I definitely did, but he played under head coach Lavel Edwards. Oh yeah, my dad was like huge, huge BYU fan name of their stadium, isn't it?
Speaker 2Yeah, stadium, stadium.
Speaker 1So and he also played with teammate and Heisman trophy winner Ty Detner. Oh yeah, so those of you who don't know, maybe it's before your time or you don't really follow he ended up.
Speaker 2He was like a big deal in college arena and especially here, yeah it's like Tied it or yeah, I remember when he was like big because I didn't, my parents didn't watch like college football. Yeah, that was big with NFL, but and especially not BYU. But I remember like boys in my class having like football signed by him and like just, it was like he was such a huge.
Speaker 1It was a big deal. So he ended up going on to play in the NFL. Actually he didn't do a lot.
Speaker 1No, he didn't he played for several teams but he never really did a lot there, but he was great, great college player. So, anyways, kent was a very religious person and he did, and he did serve a mission. It sounds like that was before he went to BYU, like maybe in between Rick's and BYU. It's a little unclear, but he went and served a two-year mission in Germany for his church and then when he got back, while he was attending BYU, he met the love of his life, an amazing woman named Melissa Virginia Hawks, who goes by Missy.
Speaker 2I love that yeah.
Speaker 1Missy. Missy was also a devout Mormon. She was raised on a dairy farm in Idaho which is like my dream.
Speaker 2I mean truthfully. I could live there, but I would have like ranch hands, I don't know. I love it. I don't want to do all the work.
Speaker 1Nope, I probably wouldn't love it, but in my mind I would love it. Um, so she was said to have always been a really hard worker, because they had to work a lot on the ranch right.
Speaker 1She was one of seven kids and it didn't say where she was in the lineup, but she was one of seven kids and her family ended up moving to Utah when she was a freshman in high school. So it was kind of a hard transition for her but she did find her, her people, and find her footing and ended up really liking it here. After she graduated high school she started working immediately to save up money with the goal of earning enough to put herself through college, nice, and that's when she met Kent and they started dating and then they ended up getting married on December 1st 1989 in the Salt Lake City Temple, and during their early marriage Missy basically worked to support the family because, okay, kent really couldn't hold the job with his hectic football and school right.
Speaker 1Yeah, so she sort of Paid for everything and kind of kept the the family afloat while he finished school. Did they have kids at this time? They did not yet, but they started, so this is when they started having kids. They ended up struggling with several miscarriages During the first part of their marriage. Yeah, but they do go on to have four healthy children. They have two daughters named Brittany and Taylor and two sons named Austin and Houston. Oh yeah, and Missy said that Kent was nothing but supportive during their struggles. Kent graduated from BYU with his degree in civil engineering. Oh, I guess. So he's freaking smart. Yeah, it's like a hard degree to get, absolutely especially when you have like a full-time.
Speaker 2Football. Yeah, they're usually out there getting like what is that Communications? Because they're planning to go. Well, for you know, usually they're like well, I'm just gonna be an NFL, so I just get this like communications degree so I can play here.
Speaker 1No, not him. He went for civil engineering.
Speaker 2I mean any engineering. Any engineers are brilliant. It's humans, crazy Wow yeah.
Kent Griffith
Speaker 1So he had always been a great student and excelled in his studies throughout his life, and After he graduated the family ended up moving a couple of times for his job. So first they went to Las Vegas where Kent worked for a company called Boyle Engineering, and At this time they during this time they had three of their four children. And Then they ended up moving to Federal Way, washington, where he worked for a firm called Kennedy and Jinx. Okay, I know nothing about any of those companies for me either, but the family was most excited to move back home where they settled in pleasant Grove, utah, where Kent got a job working for the Provo River Users Association. I also don't know, what that is.
Speaker 1But Provo River users For those of you not from Utah, pleasant Grove is like a really small town Just outside of Provo, so it's kind of a suburb, I guess you could say, of Provo.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1It and Provo is south of Salt Lake. About what would you say like 40 minutes to an hour maybe?
Speaker 2it's a little bit less than an hour outside of Salt Lake, okay, but yes, I'm right between the right, between what you said so pleasant Grove is predominantly younger families.
Speaker 1It's considered a very safe area and at this time the crime rate was like almost non-existent. It was well below both. Utah and the national averages and it's just considered a really good place to raise a family.
Speaker 2Yeah, provo, I mean, it doesn't. It's not like this now still. But when we were kids, you, they didn't sell beer or cigarettes at all in Provo, no, any of the gas stations. No, I mean, we have, we don't. Utah doesn't sell like hard liquor in any of the stores. You have to go to a liquor store for that, like a State liquor store. But they didn't sell beer. They didn't sell like wine coolers. They didn't sell cigarettes Like no, couldn't get any of that in Provo, no, a different town, yeah, so that's that's what Provo, because BYU is like big, huge, big.
Speaker 2and like BYU, they don't have any caffeinated drinks. Yeah, they're in like a very it's very, I mean, it's just very. It's very strict. It's religious, like a code, like a religious code. It's a religious code, right.
Speaker 1So you don't have to be like Mormon to attend. No, but everybody has to follow the code. So there's no like you can't live on campus with anyone of the opposite sex.
Speaker 2They've curfews.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's like it's pretty strict.
Speaker 2I believe Jim, yeah, I believe Jim McMahon went there. Oh, really, yeah, and he's like so, not like, yes, he's Catholic. I believe, yeah, and he always like that's where he played football in college. And I believe I think I read somewhere one time he said the best part of BYU for him was seeing it in his rearview mirror.
Speaker 1Well, a lot of people get in trouble with the conduct code, for sure, even people who are Mormon that are there because it's just, you know You're college right, you're a college kid. Yeah, you're in college, you want to kind of experience those things You're living outside of your house for the first time, you know it's just a little bit, but it's.
Speaker 2they follow, like the, the churches values Absolutely, and they expect the kids too, and so you know which you know doesn't happen.
Speaker 1Yeah, all the time, but I think a lot of kids do oh for sure, oh for sure yeah. I Probably wouldn't mind. No, I would not have been one of them.
Speaker 2No, no, I mean I don't, but I'm not like a crazy, never have been a crazy. Part of your butt, it just probably I even have a good curfew.
Speaker 1Yeah, that would be hard, very hard so Kent was a Really, really amazing father. He was one of those that was very hands-on, loved, loved, loved spending time with his family. He would always get home and always still had Time and energy to wrestle around and play with his kids. In an article from the Deseret news, his best friend, or one of his really good friends, nathan would, is quoted stating Griffith's priorities were his family and his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Everything else took a distant second. Kent was absolutely dedicated to his family. He told me the best time of his day was going home to his wife and children.
Speaker 2Oh, my gosh, oh so soon.
Speaker 1It's just so sweet like he's such as. Yeah, he just loved his family. Kent's love for sports Also continued and he ended up becoming a coach of his own children's sports teams, of course, but he also ended up coaching a seventh grade football team. He loved to serve Anyone really who was in need. Yeah, but especially the youth. He was just, he just loved Helping children. Okay, and he was very active, in his words, young men's activity group and he tried to be a good role model for the younger generation and people often asked Kent to help them with numerous tasks, especially physical tasks, because of his size right, yeah, they're like.
Speaker 2We know the guy for this job, it's Kent.
Speaker 1And of course he would always say yes. And not only did he never complain about how busy he was and how much people asked of him, but he actually loved it. Oh he his friends and family said it truly gave him a great joy to be able to serve others. And then he also thought of himself as like a protector. So with his size it was probably very easy to be intimidating, but he never was like yeah, he was never even. You know, even to his friends and brothers.
Speaker 1He was just always one of those people who wanted to stand up for people, Um oh, who were in tough situations. Yeah, he was just that guy. I love that. Kent's religious faith became even stronger when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer in the year 2000. Oh no, so he ended up having to have a ten pound tumor Holy shit as well as one of his kidneys removed. Oh, like ten pounds on your kidney.
Speaker 2I like how fast that grew, because if it's like it's been slow growing, you would get used to it, right?
Speaker 1as I grow.
Speaker 2You're not gonna notice. You don't notice like that you, I would imagine ten pounds. You had to be able to feel it. Yeah, that is huge. It's huge, holy cow.
Speaker 1So he was doing well From this surgery and things were starting to look up from the family, but it did take a toll on them. But then, two and a half years later, after this diagnosis and treatment, he was diagnosed with freaking thyroid cancer Shut up. So two cancers in like three years. That's not okay.
Speaker 1No, he had to undergo more surgery and other treatments for this, and so his wife, missy, during this time, was trying to go back To school because she still, at this point, doesn't have a degree because she's like during this whole time she like goes to school and then something happens and so then she has to quit and start working, or she has young kids, or, and then Things are looking up, so she goes back to school, and then he, her husband, gets diagnosed with a second cancer and so she had to kind of put her stuff on hold.
Workplace Tragedy and Gun Violence
Speaker 1Yeah, because the medical bills started piling up and he was unable to work during this time. So she worked to take care of her husband and their four children. Missy always did what she could to support her family and is she just sounds like an amazing person as well? Yeah, during this time Kent was still completely devoted to his family in every way that he could be, and, despite the fatigue and side effects of his treatments, he continued to try to spend time with and be involved in his family's life in any way that he could Wow. Once he got his strength back, he went back to work and started working at the Provo Rivers user association.
Speaker 1That's the hardest, that is really hard to say Provo River user association. He was a great employee and well liked by all of his coworkers and supervisors, and so it was no surprise to anyone when he worked his way up the career ladder to a supervisor role. Despite all the hardships they had faced thus far, the family seemed to be in a good place and was doing really well. After four years he was still considered cancer-free, and then they were struck with an even worse tragedy Then they could ever imagine.
Speaker 1Kent was struggling with some issues at work and, like most of us, he went to his wife for comfort. There was an employee there by the name of Lewis Darrell Kenyon Jr. Kenyon is K-I-N-Y-O-N who Kent was the supervisor of, and Kenyon was also a super good employee. Everybody seemed to like him. He didn't really have any bad blood with anybody. But unfortunately Kent was tasked with the difficult disciplinary role of the supervisor. Yeah, and somebody caught Kenyon looking at some inappropriate Pornography on his work computer, like at work at work you can't like hold off, do that right like wait for your work day to be done.
Speaker 1Right like Like that to me is just means so inappropriate in the workplace like I can't even imagine, because I feel like when you look at that stuff you want to go like take care of your right, especially a guy right and you're looking at it at work well, and you have a problem if you can't go your work day, yeah, without looking up porn.
Speaker 1Yeah, and Later on, missy and Kent's dad both say that they think that this was like they wanted to bring like awareness to porn addiction and porn issues. Because it's huge in Utah yeah, it is, it's really big in Utah and they felt like this was sort of what caused everything to spiral. Yeah, and they are like I wish more people realized how dangerous Pornography addiction was. Yeah, so, yeah. So he got caught looking at things he shouldn't be, definitely shouldn't be at work. Yeah, and he got turned in to his supervisor, who was Kent. So Kent had to pull him aside and Towards the end of March of 2004, kent went into work and had to have the discussion with Kenyan and had to place him on a suspension, while the company kind of decided his feet yeah, so they're like listen, you got to go, we're putting you're suspended.
Speaker 1We're gonna all meet together as a group, figure out where to go from here, see if you still have a job and we'll let you know. Yeah, so at this point Kenyan left without really any escalation and he was on probation for a little bit and then on April 2nd 2004, he was asked to come back for the meeting with all of the supervisors to discuss the final outcome of his suspension, and, and during that meeting, the company broke the news to Kenyan that they had decided to let him go. Okay, so they're. They weren't doing this any like. They were firing him. This was a fireable offense to them. They weren't giving him any warnings. Yeah, that was it. And when he received this news, kenyan became super upset, very, very angry, started screaming, throwing a huge fit, and, and in his fit of rage, he ended up knocking over like a candy machine. Uh-huh, you know how they have those in the offices where you can like put the quarters in a yeah.
Speaker 1Like one of those spinning candy machines. He knocks one of those over, throws it to the ground, is grabbing papers off of desks and throwing them everywhere.
Speaker 2That's not proving their point.
Speaker 1Screaming right like we did not make a mistake with this firing.
Speaker 1We made the right, yeah. So he kind of throws this tantrum and then he does leave the building. The company during this time had called to report the incident and the cops showed up and start looking for Kenyan. They stick around for a while, they kind of go around the perimeter. He's nowhere to be seen, yeah, and there's no immediate threat. So they ended up leaving this fight and some sources that says that they were gonna actually take him in and so they went to try and find him at his house, okay, but in another site said they just left. So I'm not sure. Okay, but unfortunately, very soon after the police left, kenyan showed back up and was met at the glass front doors by two supervisors, one being Kent. The men urged Kenyan to just go home and calm down, but Kenyan was so angry and at that he pulled out a handgun, so escalates pretty quickly. Yeah, yeah, kent begged him to stop what he was doing and think about his family, but without hesitation, kenyan shoots several rounds through the glass doors, like shattering the glass. One of these rounds ends up hitting Kent in the shoulder and With this, like when people here's the shots are fired, they do like an announcement and people start to flee from the scene to escape the threat, yeah, which I feel like we kind of know what to do now in these situations, like we're somewhat trained because there's so many shootings.
Speaker 1But back in 2004, no, yeah, that was a pretty like that was something that didn't happen often for sure. Yeah, right, so everyone's just like running away. Kent was able to stay very calm and was trying to get everyone else to safety. So he was like kind of motioning everybody in front of him, yeah, walking the way, helping to get a lot of people out of the building into safety. And Then Kent and several other people were kind of going from building to building, trying to flee from Kenyan. But Kenyan just kept following them and soon caught up with them and he ends up firing several more rounds into this crowd, as the people were were running away from him and one of them ends up hitting Kent in the back of the neck, uh-huh, and this shot unfortunately kills him instantly.
Speaker 1Oh, no, he was only 36. Oh my god, that's terrible. 36 and has four kids. Yeah, kenyan, this kind of snaps him out of it and he sees what he did and, like Almost, it was like had a realization that he just killed Kent yeah, who, by the way, it says that he and him and Kent Rick really got along. They never had any bad blood. Yeah, they never had any issues until this incident. Wow, so it just like escalated very quickly.
Speaker 1But realizing that Kent was dead, he immediately walks this was like outside of the building, uh-huh. He walks back into the building, into one of the bathrooms, puts the gun to the bottom of his chin and pulls the trigger. Oh, no, crumpling to the floor. When the police arrive at the scene, they found Ken's lifeless body. And then they end up doing the search and they find Kenyan in the bathroom who was still alive. Oh, shut up, he does not die from this, he doesn't. To his chin, no, oh. So he ends up being taken to the hospital, where he would eventually recover completely from his injuries.
Speaker 2Did it like shoot a hole in his face or?
Speaker 1anything? Yes, okay. I was like, I felt like so instead of going up Up, he shot under his chin instead of going up through his brain. Uh-huh, he had it forward a little bit too much, so it went through his chin, out his face. Oh yeah, terrible, oh no. So then the police have to go and inform Missy that she is now a widow oh my god, I can't even imagine.
Speaker 2And he like where he's a civil engineer like you are. You're not like, you know, not like the wife of a police officer. We're like you, kind of like that's just something in the back of your head. Always it like they may not come home from work, right, you know?
Speaker 1and so like the last thing you expect in this situation is Is to send your husband to work and then he's gonna get killed at work and yeah, and that's the last time you'll see. It's insane. Oh, I can't even imagine the emotions that she was feeling. No, so their children at this time were? We're so young. The oldest, brittany, was 12. Taylor, depending on the source, says nine or ten, but most said nine, so we have 12 nine. Austin was seven and the youngest, houston, was almost two.
Speaker 2Oh my gosh, he was just a baby, well, and then their oldest is 12. Like it's like such a terrible time to lose your dad as a girl especially, I can't even imagine.
Speaker 1Oh, I think that's how old Bailey was when she lost her dad. That's terrible.
Speaker 2That's awful, awful.
Speaker 1I can't imagine. Like.
Speaker 2I cannot imagine like my daughter losing her dad right now.
Speaker 1No. I mean it'd be hard for my son too, but like you dads and daughters, just have this like it's like a different bond and that's such like a I know, I can't, I can't, I Can't even imagine and having to tell your kids like I can't imagine that stories and I'm like, oh my god, like if somebody told me that Mario was killed Not even, not even just died, but was murdered, yeah, like the emotions that you're feeling. And then you have to like Be there for your kids.
Speaker 2You can't fall apart. Nope, you can't.
Speaker 1And you have like, because, yes, other people can step in to help you, right?
Speaker 2But they're gonna want their parents.
Speaker 1Yeah, like it's like the emotions that go through this I just can't even imagine.
Speaker 2I can't even fathom it and she's got kids at an age we're like explaining to them that dad's never coming home. It's a hard concept. Yeah, it's like a you know, like they can't kind of wrap their little tiny brains around that quite yet, that like dad's not gonna come home and that would be so hard to like. I'm sure have that conversation more than once.
Speaker 1Yeah and you know, and and you're like obviously grieving and Well, and if there anything like like my kids, like my kids, you know, have had a decent amount of death recently in their lives, and it's almost like Not only do they not quite comprehend it, but then they ask you multiple questions. Yeah, they're even kind of morbid a little bit. Yeah, for sure it's not that it's just them not knowing right. They want answers, and the thing with the death is it's so hard to give answers like I can tell you what happens To your body and what I think happens after death, but we don't know and it's really hard, I feel like, for To like explain that. Yeah, but then not only that, but when you're grieving, like even them asking me about my dad, yeah, and that's like just you know, grandpa, yeah, it was like over and over and over and it was like I don't want to talk about this anymore.
Speaker 2Yeah, oh yeah, I, I was so like.
Speaker 1You are so filled with anxiety Reef and yeah yeah. Yeah, like the last thing I want is for you to ask me 20 questions about this and what's happening and then in an hour, ask me 20 more, like I. So moms that have to go through this and deal with this no, my heart just goes out to them because I cannot Even fathom in my brain what it was like?
Speaker 2no, and it's like the idea of, like you know You're gonna, you're getting ready to just break your kids heart. Yeah and that is like the most devastating like thought to like I have to go in and do this and my kids are gonna be Like devastated.
Speaker 1Yeah, well, I feel like it's different when it's a grandparent, that they don't see every day for sure, yeah, they don't see every day, but that this is like a big. I mean, this is the biggest part of a kid's life is parents. Yep, even though we sometimes don't feel like that as parents, it is yeah, you're their world.
Speaker 2And he was like what sounds like such a great dad like very. Present and very like a part of their day to day. You know, he wasn't someone who wasn't at the home very much or didn't wasn't very hands-on not that would make it any worse but, like you know, he's someone who is like part of their day to day, kind of helping out and being there, and so Just terrible.
Speaker 1It's terrible, I, it's awful. So Missy's older sister, lisa Hatch, later said that when she got to the house to comfort her sister, she found Missy lying in a heap at the end of her bed and and her and the kids fell into her arms and were inconsolable. Oh, she stated. In all my life I've never seen anything as painful as Missy with her kids.
Speaker 1Which I'm sure like, oh, I can't, I just can't, I can't imagine it. No, like tugs at my heart. Yeah, so then she also went on to say that Missy just kept dialing Kent's cell phone number.
Speaker 1Oh, my god, over and over, just to hear his voice on his voice no which I was like oh, oh, my god, I can't, I know that like made me want to cry. She was then immediately so, after she like took five minutes to grieve. She was then immediately worried about Kenyon and his and how his family was doing, knowing that he was also married with children and a grandchild. Oh, oh, he was older. Yeah, so he was 49. Okay, so not very much, no no but 49 and he had a very young grandchild.
Speaker 2Oh yeah, Nice of her.
Speaker 1I know Missy even goes on to ask her sister and her other family members, like when, if they talk to the press or do any interviews, to please, please, please, don't mention the pornography Issues that Kenyon was dealing with, because she was so concerned that with the effect that it would have on Kenyon's wife and children, especially in that small community. So her thoughts literally just went straight to his family, we're. I'm sorry, but most people, the majority of people, and I think this is also a natural response as well.
Speaker 1So I'm not coming out, I know because I would be in this second group of people, yeah, where I would freakin hate them, I would hate all of them. I'd be like how, how did your loved one do this to me? How did you just? You just wrecked my entire life, yeah, and have all of these.
Speaker 2I don't know if I'd be mad at, like, his family, but for sure him and I'd be like probably pissed that he didn't die. You know what I mean? Yeah, like why are you so alive?
Family Forgiveness and Tragedy
Speaker 1Like why do you get to do that and live? Yeah, and yeah, I Would totally be in that boat, yeah, and I'd like to say I'm a bigger person and, and that I wouldn't be, but I know I would be, I think it. I would be so Angry and so upset and we've talked about it on many episodes but there's like some family members that feel like they forgive them and let them go and help them grief, I wouldn't, I could not be one of them.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1I feel like it would be something that I would like write them death letters.
Speaker 2Mail them to jail. Yeah, it would be hard, like I would like to think I would be a forgiving person, but later on, like not this fresh, yeah. And and to the murderer, like I, you know His family and that kind of stuff, I wouldn't, because like that's not on them, but yeah for him, I would be angry with him and frustrated that like he was still alive. And you know, and I think that's a very calm, I think it was the majority of people would probably feel that way.
Speaker 2So she's like I wouldn't be like I.
Speaker 1Hate the family, but I wouldn't Even think about their grief. Yeah, maybe that makes me makes me like a very selfish person, but this story makes me want to change my entire view. Yeah, on that, like it truly, truly does, more than any other Story that we have covered. Yeah, it makes me want to be a better, more forgiving person. Yeah, so just wait, just wait. Okay. So his friend would again is quoted saying he died protecting other people. He died doing what he loved doing protecting and defending others. Those who worked with him called him a hero, and I think that's what he was. Oh my gosh. Which, of course, like, yeah, put himself in the line of fire to get everybody else out. Yeah, and he could probably block a few people.
Speaker 2Right, he's probably so used to just kind of being a protector, like being such like a big person and like being, I'm sure, looked at like that way by a lot of people. And it was just in his nature to do that.
Speaker 1It's just who he was like at his core. Yeah, in crisis, I feel like you Find out who you are at your for sure.
Speaker 2Yeah this was him at. He was not George.
Speaker 1Costanza, pushing old ladies down to get out of the building.
Speaker 2He was. No, he was a hero. He was, he was a total hero.
Speaker 1His former BYU coach, lavel Edwards, remembered Kent and was quoted saying he was always a guy who was very friendly and outgoing. He was a sharp kid and a good student. He made himself into a good football player. He always worked hard in practice. He was a very likable guy with a happy countenance, hmm, which they were, like, you know, love out. Edwards coached a lot of people, right, yeah, and he's him specifically remembering him and like reaching out Was like just really cool, yeah. So Kenyan ended ends up having to have a bunch of facial surgery, of course, right, and he has to stay in the hospital for about a month. So once he was recovered enough, he was booked and taken to jail for charges of first degree murder, sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated assault, which I was like it must have been child porn. Yeah, I was like wait, what Sexual?
Speaker 2exploitation of a minor. It had to have been some sort of porn and then he's looking at it in a public forum.
Speaker 1Which I think is how you get that charge.
Speaker 2I mean, I think, if you're, doing child pornography, even if it's in your home. I think it's sexual exploitation of a child. I think so Okay, because you're exploiting a child, like, whether it's in your home, it's like on a Public. You know what I mean. Like it's, it's out there, like you're.
Speaker 1You're taking use of that, of that and looking at it Yourself so I have to think I couldn't find any specifics on this, but I have to think it was child porn. What was this with them? Again? Um, darryl, no, lewis Darryl, kenyan, most, most, most places just refer to him as Darryl, but his? It's hard because when you Google him, his dad's name is the exact same and his dad recently like passed away for like a while ago. I do see that obituary. So, yeah, you see the obituary. That's his father. You can't really find a lot about him and there's literally no pictures of him either. This is gonna be really hard for our social media because I have no pictures of him, but anyways, he had worked for this company.
Speaker 2No, that's Kent, oh, okay, um, he had worked for this company for about four years prior to this incident and it sounded like he didn't have any problems prior to this, from what I could find.
Speaker 1Okay, but again, the info is really pretty limited. He was also a sports coach, a devout LDS man, and was an active scout master with no prior issues with the law. So it seems like he was like Great dad, great grandfather, like everything in his life was going well. And then you come to several articles mentioned that he had an air quotes lesion To his frontal lobe of his brain and he had recently been started on a depression anxiety medication called paxil, which affects the uptake of serotonin in the brain. So I couldn't find how this lesion was found or diagnosed, but from the articles that mentioned it it sounds like he was struggling a lot with some depression issues and that they did a scan of his brain and found something and then started him on the depression meds.
Speaker 1So I have no idea what this diagnosis was I have no idea if it was a tumor.
Speaker 1It just says A-paxil Interesting. But just as an aside, I wanted to let you know that the frontal lobe of your brain, just like it sounds like, is the front part of your brain. It's a very large lobe of your brain and it manages, like seriously so many things emotions. It's responsible for your personality, your judgment, your self control, muscle control and movement and memory control. You're self control, muscle control and movement and memory is also stored here. So when someone has a tumor or a stroke or an injury of some kind that occurs to this part of the brain, it can lead to depression, difficulty managing emotions, muscle twitching, loss of memory, erratic behavior, difficulty with manual tasks, trouble thinking logically and changes in personality.
Speaker 2So it's a it's a pretty big deal. Brain injuries are pretty, yeah, pretty scary.
Speaker 1So I don't again. I don't know exactly what his diagnosis was, but this could have absolutely played a role in his sudden, like behavior change.
Speaker 1Yeah so I thought it was worth mentioning. So Kenyan ended up going through a psyche valve to make sure he was competent to stand trial, which he was deemed competent. The defense was going to try to claim that the Paxil was the cause of his erratic behavior, which makes me think that it might have been a newer medication. They were planning on having an expert witness talk about how so many people in this time because, remember, this was 2004. Yeah, um, we're taking Paxil. We're having worsening depression, anger outbursts, erratic behavior and even suicidal and homicidal ideation while taking this medication.
Speaker 1But they didn't ever end up making it to trial because Kenyan ends up taking a pleadale. So they didn't have to use this as a defense at all. Kenyan took a pleadale and pled guilty, or pleaded guilty, to first-degree murder in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table and the sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated assault charges were both dropped. Oh, during the pleading and the sentencing, you would normally see a courtroom dividing the two sides one of the victim, one of the perpetrator, yeah, but in this case the families and friends were all sitting side by side, sprinkled in with one another.
Speaker 2That's so crazy.
Speaker 1When I was reading about this, it was like nothing I had ever seen or heard, because I feel, like there's just so much anger, even if it's not to those individuals. There's just so much anger around it that it's just divided. Right, yeah, right, and it's like tense and you don't want to see that person, you don't want to be sat next to that person.
Speaker 2No, you don't want to sit next to your family, like you don't want to sit next to their family. Yeah.
Speaker 1But in this case it was, and they were just like. They were all very, very forgiving.
Speaker 2Wow.
Speaker 1So at sentencing, judge Lynn Davis read a letter that was written by Taylor, who was Kent's youngest daughter, which was around 10, the age nine or 10. And it said I don't want Darryl to die or anything because it would just hurt everyone worse. Oh, my gosh, okay.
Speaker 2So I guess they're trying to comprehend this.
Speaker 1Kent's father, Dennis, ends up thanking Kenyan for pleading guilty and saving the family from a trial and so many appeals processes that would have been hard on both families, I think.
Speaker 2So when you take a plea deal, you don't get.
Speaker 1You do not get appeals.
Speaker 2Okay, yeah, I guess I never thought about that.
Speaker 1A lot of people still try to appeal. But they try to appeal that. Oh, my lawyer made me take this plea deal or whatever. But yeah, if you plead guilty to something, you don't get all the appeals process, it's just once you're convicted you can come back if you do a trial. He then stated me my wife and family forgive him. We've come to peace with that. Our tears and prayers go to his family for the pain that they've been through as well.
Speaker 2Oh my God, there's like so weirdly good people, so weirdly good, and I don't mean that in like a negative light, it's just like you don't see people like that.
Speaker 1You don't see this. You don't at all. We have covered a lot of cases so far and we do not see this.
Speaker 2Do you remember? I think it was the Perry gas station murder. They were kind of like this, but it was like 20, 30 years later, yeah, Not so fresh. Remember like the family was like, really like forgiving to each other. The moms at least were, but it was 20. I mean, it was a cold case for so long. It wasn't just like this just happened.
Speaker 1Well, we've had a couple of cases where they've been like, yeah, I forgave them because I felt like I needed to do that. Right, I didn't want to do that either, and move on, but again it's just like that it's years later. Yeah, it's not at the sentencing.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's not like you just found out your husband died and then you're like, how is the murderer? How is?
Speaker 1yeah, how is his wife? Yeah, how is his family? Has anyone choked on his wife and family? Can we not bring up the fact that he was looking at porn, because I don't want their lives to be ruined.
Speaker 2That's just. That's another level of like, selflessness to think about. Like his family, because they have nothing to do with. If he was looking at you know porn or child porn. His kids don't need to be drug into that like, which is such a good human Like. That's how it should be. It is, but that's not how it goes.
Speaker 1But we're emotional beings, right, so it doesn't always go.
Speaker 2it never goes that way, no, and we're humans and we're kind of a terrible species.
Forgiveness and Support Among Tragedy
Speaker 1It's true, but Missy is like the best of the best and his family is like the best of the best. Missy was also very adamant that she had also forgiven Kenyan and was just super worried about his wife, and she ended up stating there's no way I can say how much this has affected us, but I want Daryl and his family to know that I'm not bitter towards them.
Speaker 1She even put it out there to his wife that if she needed anything, to please contact Missy, because she would love to help her in any way, knowing that Kenyan's wife was also, in a sense, just widowed and like a single parent, because you know he's yeah.
Speaker 2You're at different points in your life and your kids are grown, but at the same time it's like you still just lost your husband.
Speaker 1You have to deal with the fact that the man that you have loved for years and years and years and you've raised a family with and has never done anything like this before, is suddenly a murderer.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, you find out a lot. I mean, you find out that potentially he was looking at child porn and he murdered somebody. I like that's a lot to, that's a lot to like have to come to terms with.
Speaker 1Yeah, and then now you have, like you don't have that partner at home, like bringing in money helping you around the house, like you know yeah, that was part of like changes, and you live in a super small town where everyone knows everyone and I'm sure there's a lot of people that are judgy, oh yes, and so I'm sure it's like the talk of the, the church and the talk of the town, and you don't know who's being fake nice to you, oh yeah, or like genuinely concerned about you.
Speaker 2I mean even in my divorce, like even though so when my ex has been left, we weren't like divorced yet and he was helping, like with the bills because I had just lost a job and so I wasn't working in the moment and so he did help with the bills. But I remember, like that first summer after he left, like I was so mad because he just kind of it was like such a surprise thing that I made him come in Moldavan every week because I was like I had never Moldavan. Our whole relationship, because he liked to, was like actually something he liked to do and he had worked doing that like as a teenager and so he had always done that. And then we, you know, built this house and we had this like decent sized yard and I was like I did not freaking sign up for this. Like you, I am not like you need to come in Moldavan.
Speaker 1I don't do hard work.
Speaker 2I was like so mad, I was like you left and like you need to come do this. So he would. He came every Saturday, Moldavan for that, like first summer after he left, because it's just stuff like that that you're so accustomed to when you are married and then you don't have that person anymore and it's like aside from all the emotional stuff, but like there's some of that stuff like just around the house that you're like uh, what yeah?
Speaker 1And then when he stopped, then I would come over and help, because she was I like doing yard work too. I hate it. He can hate yard work more than anything. So I was like, why don't we just I'll just come over.
Speaker 2I'll bring the kids.
Speaker 1They can play in the sprinkler or whatever We'll weed, we'll get your.
Speaker 2it was hard because once like once he did stop doing that. Like I got a job and then I had like commute time and kids by myself. It was like by the time I got home like I did not have time to Moldavan and you know, and then I just I think mentally like it was hard to just kind of get in the like mode of doing something that you absolutely hate, and then because somewhere I just like you left and this is not your responsibility.
Speaker 2Yeah it was hard, it was, it was not my favorite thing, yeah, so I I feel I feel for her as well.
Speaker 1Yeah, I do too. And then Kenyon's daughter Tara, his daughter-in-law and his mother all spoke as well and apologized to the Griffith family and thanked them for their forgiveness and told Kenyon that he would all always be loved.
Speaker 2Oh gosh.
Speaker 1Kenyon's mom, Ellen, went on to talk about how she had a good son and how he had earned his Eagle Scout, the LDS Church's duty for duty to God award which I don't know what that is, I don't mean and served as a dedicated scout, master and youth athletic coach. She stated that we as a family will never give up on him. She also asked Ken's children not to have hatred towards her son but to look forward to a future of peace and happiness. So it was like Ken's family was apologizing and like or not apologizing, but forgiving them, yeah. And then they were like saying thank you for forgiving us, Like you know, and everyone was just like if you need anything, we're here for you, If you need anything we're here for you.
Forgiveness and Healing in Tragic Events
Speaker 1And like hugging it out in this courtroom. That is, it's nuts so beyond. And then the person who had the last words was Kenyan and he apologized to Ken's family and court as well and said there's not a day that goes by when I don't hear Griffith's children cry as they cry themselves to sleep.
Speaker 2Oh my.
Speaker 1God, which I was like, oh.
Speaker 1Like you have to live with that His whole life. And it doesn't sound like most of the time when these things happen, we hear about these people Like these guys were terrible people, like they did it for like you know, I don't know, they just do it for stupid reasons. But for me, and I don't know, I could just be totally speculating, but it sounds like there was something in his brain that just caused him to snap, yeah, and then he was on a new medication which can have that side effect For sure, yeah, and we didn't know a lot about mental health that we do now and it's just a sad, sad situation all around.
Speaker 2Well, I think we hear these murderers have remorse or say sorry and it's always like meh, meh. I'm not going to necessarily take that Like it is too much, because you are a sociopath or a narcissist or whatever, but in this case everyone is so forgiving it makes you want to feel the same way about him and like, have sympathy for Kenyan as well as the Griffith family.
Speaker 1Yes, Because, like it's, a Griffith family can forgive him. Yeah, we should all have that same like compassion. Yeah, I don't know. That's how I felt too. I was like this is. I've never felt like this during a case. Judge Davis stated this is a terrible and tragic event, a crime against humanity. He has left a trail of tears and broken dreams. I was like oh my gosh, oh my gosh. He then sentenced Kenyan to life in prison without the possibility of pearl. After sentencing, Missy was asked about her thoughts on his apology and she states it was tender to me to see his emotion and pain. I wanted to give him a hug. It meant a lot to me. Oh, I was like okay, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1Okay, fred, I think it's Mitos M-E-T-O-S. Fred Mitos, who was one of Kenyan's defense attorneys, later said that in 30 years of being a lawyer, he'd never seen a victim's family show forgiveness Like that had been given to his client. Yeah, he said. Their ability to forgive in this case is extremely rare and something they really ought to be commended for. If nothing else, it will speed the healing process of both the Griffiths and the Kenyans. Judge Lynn Davis couldn't agree more, saying in his 18 years on the bench he had never witnessed such good will on the part of a family who had lost a loved one in such a violent manner. No, it's probably never will.
Speaker 2No, no, it's just I don't think he'll ever see that again. No, so the duty of God. A word yeah Is, I believe, part of the Boy Scouts. Maybe Like has that in there but maybe it's not. Anyway, but it says it's presented to young men who participated and excelled in their duties in the Aaronic priesthood. I guess not so just LDS within the Church of Jesus Christ a lot of day Saints.
Speaker 1Okay.
Speaker 2So then they just get this award duty of God and it's got like the temple on it.
Speaker 1Oh I never heard of it before yeah the duty of.
Speaker 2God, yeah, I'd never heard of that. I was like why is that? Okay, so is this him? Cause this looks like this guy's a scar on his face. Oh, that might be him. It's the only picture. Like you know how many? You pull up pictures in Google then you can scroll down. There's more. Yeah, like, all there is is these weird pictures of like landscape underneath it.
Speaker 1I literally looked like that was it pictures of him and there's like like a lot of times you'll see news articles and they'll have a picture of them like in handcuffs or coming back from the hospital or anything. There is nothing of this and there's like one or two pictures of Kent.
Speaker 2Yeah, this almost looks like I felt like when I went. It almost looks like someone took a picture of the mug shot on TV. Yeah, like it's like grainy. It's the only one. Yeah, it's the only one I could find.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 2It's really crazy.
Speaker 1So this family ended up, as far as I could tell, missy never ended up getting remarried. She raised her kids and they have all done very well. Sounds like they all are pretty much married. I think the youngest one, houston, is not, but Austin ended up also being huge because he's dad's height and ended up playing football. Oh really, and sounds like Missy has some grand kiddos out there and it's just Okay this is 2004.
Speaker 2Oh, it was 20 years ago, so the baby would be like 22. Yeah, so so.
Speaker 1And he went on a mission and I was able to find some stuff on them. I'm post all of this but it's just really sad and Missy actually ended up and I'm trying to see if somebody can send me the link but in the LDS church. I don't know if other places do this, but they have what are called firesides.
Speaker 2Have you ever heard of firesides? Oh?
Speaker 1yes, okay, and it's like where they'll have a speaker come and the youth groups come and listen and it's just like uplifting things. Yeah, and I've had firesides about this and how to like deal with tragedy and how to like about forgiveness and things like that. From what I understand, and Sarah, who messaged us with this case, had kind of mentioned the fireside and it sounds like it was just an amazing, an amazing talk.
Speaker 1Oh, I'm sure, so I'm trying to get a link for that and if anyone's interested, if I'm able to get it, I will post it on our social media, so then you can go in here. Missy actually tell more about this in her own words.
Speaker 2Yeah, that would be quite through, so that would be amazing.
Speaker 1And that is the story of our gentle giants. That's really sad. Her fifth, I know so sad. It's like so sad but also a little bit uplifting, yeah, and like there's just some people in this world that are just amazing. They are just amazing, yeah, and I'm in awe. I'm in awe of them and I'm in awe of how she carried herself and how she raised her kids to deal with this tragedy in such a positive way and it's just incredible.
Speaker 1So well done, Missy and the Griffith, the entire Griffith family and our heart goes out to you and thank you for your uplifting story and we're so sorry that you guys had to go through such a tragic event. Right, I hope that some people take something positive from this story and are able to do better with our lives. Absolutely, be better people, be better yeah, and so we. I don't even think we need a soul cleanse for this, because it was just I feel like that is a soul cleanse within itself.
Speaker 1It just makes you want to be a better person, for sure, all the way around. So, all right, well, go follow us on all of the things. Go sign up for our Patreon to get that extra bonus content, because if you think we're friends right now, just wait, yeah, you just wait, and we'll become like real good friends and you'll get to see us, which I feel like is sometimes kind of bad, but you know, puts a face to the name, right.
Speaker 1And you can see the real us. Yeah, not just what we look like in your heads. Yeah, Hopefully. And we're imagining what we look like.
Speaker 2Hopefully, hopefully it's better when you see us in person and not like oh, that's not what I pictured at all, that's what I feel like it's going to be more like man.
Speaker 1their faces don't fit their voices, do you? Know what I do, that when you listen to people on the radio and then you see a picture and you're like, oh, you know that country singer. That's not what I expected. Kane Brown.
Speaker 2Yeah, I like listened to him and I was like, oh my God, I like love him. And I looked him up and I was like what? That is not. Nope, that is not the person that went with that voice. Nope, he is like a child and he looks like maybe he'd be on the hip hop scene, like just the way he dressed and just like I just did not.
Speaker 1I was like whoa, he doesn't even wear cowboy boots. Yeah, I was kind of country singer, are you? I was like how does he have such a?
Speaker 2deep voice, I know.
Speaker 1I agree. So yeah, felt the same way. So, all right. So that's all of the things Instagram, tiktok and especially Facebook, because we're old and we love Facebook. Yes, we love it, we do Love it, and remember to keep listening if you want in on the sin. Bye, guys, and I'll see you guys next time.