Alexis Griffin was a 26-year-old Black mother of two from Baton Rouge whose life ended in a violent domestic incident on the evening of November 2, 2020. According to authorities, her boyfriend and the father of her children, Joshua Jermaine Matthews, arrived at her Serenity Apartments complex to pick up their 4-year-old while their 2-week-old daughter slept inside. Around 6:30 p.m. Griffin brought the boy into the parking lot; when Matthews reached for the child she sprayed him with pepper spray.

Matthews then swatted at her, began to walk away, returned, drew a gun and chased her around a vehicle. As she ran toward a wooded area behind the complex, he fired one shot that struck her in the back and pierced both lungs. Responders found Griffin fatally wounded; surveillance video captured the encounter and police said a history of domestic violence existed between the couple. Matthews was arrested two days later and charged with second-degree murder; officers recovered the weapon at a friend’s home.

Did anyone in the area witness the pickup that evening or see the couple at the complex before the shooting?