Fire alarm pulled after 72-year-old beaten to death; Family mourns 'kind' newspaper worker

ASHEVILLE — Even as newly-released documents shed more light on what happened when a 72-year-old man was beaten to death at Compass Point on March 8, his family continues to mourn his loss and share memories of the former newspaper print worker they describe as a “unique character.”

Robert Earl Griggs was found dead at Compass Point Village — a permanent supportive housing project built out of a 1960s motel on Tunnel Road — after Asheville Police Department officers were dispatched around 3:23 a.m. March 8, according to a news release from the police department.

Around 3:21 a.m., a 911 caller told dispatch that "we have a resident" who has "been acting kind of crazy" and a fire alarm went off in his room, according to a transcript obtained by the Citizen Times.

"(We) went over there to try and check," the caller said. "He wouldn't let us in. Then he left his room and while he was gone, we were going to go in (and) check the fire alarm and there's someone dead on his floor."

The caller then explained that the resident had locked the door and they "literally waited for him to leave his room" so they could turn off the fire alarm.

Based on the transcript, the caller was at the front desk and later joined one of their "associates" in the room. They told 911 that the man — later identified as Griggs — appeared to have been shot in the head.

Initial reporting: Update: Police say Asheville man beat another man to death; victim ID'd as 72-year-old

"A speaker in the background (of the 911 call), and the caller states it appears maybe he'd been shot," spokesperson Samantha Booth told the Citizen Times over email March 22. "Upon further investigation and in alignment with the information provided in the release sent out, I can confirm that the victim was indeed beaten to death and sustained blunt-force trauma."

The 911 caller stated that he had a picture and name of the suspect, who had left on foot "probably about 10 minutes" earlier wearing overalls with no shirt.

The first police officer arrived on scene at 3:28 a.m., according to officer response notes. A person matching the suspect's description — later identified as Garland William Kuykendall Jr., 55, of Asheville — was then found near the Burger King on Tunnel Road and detained at about 3:32 a.m., according to officer notes.

Police charged Kuykendall with first-degree murder for Grigg's death. He's being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under no bond.

"Homeward Bound is deeply saddened by the loss of life that happened at one of our facilities and offers sincere condolences to the family of the victim," Jessie Figueroa, resource development director with Homeward Bound, told the Citizen Times in a March 21 email.

"We remain focused on creating a safe environment for all who seek our services and will continue to collaborate with our partners, including law enforcement, to uphold our mission of preventing and ending homelessness in our community through permanent housing and support."

Brother, uncle, remembered as 'meek and kind'

Grigg’s sister-in-law, Jeannie Griggs, told the Citizen Times that the family is “very sad this happened at all, but the way of death is so much more painful.” She said Griggs was going to visit Kuykendall at Compass Point the night the incident happened.

“He was always one of those ‘not what happens to you in life but how you deal with it’ type of people, and he never held onto any type of negativity that anyone said or did toward him – he just laughed it off,” Jeannie Griggs said.

“Honestly, that’s probably why there were no defense wounds because Robert wasn’t a person that was going to try and carry something out.”

Jeannie said Griggs lived with her and her husband, Perry Griggs, for several years in three different states and helped take care of their three children. They moved frequently because Griggs and his brother Perry worked in newspaper print for Thomson Newspapers, including at the Dothan Eagle, Albany Times and Andalusia Star-News, the brother told the Citizen Times.

Griggs, whom the family called “Uncle Ra-Ra,” had a signature quote he’d “always say,” according to Jeannie: “The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”

Originally a carpenter by trade, Griggs had moved to Asheville in 2005 to work maintenance and live in a trailer park nearby, his sister-in-law said. He later moved in with his nephew in the Asheville-area, but lost touch with his brother and sister-in-law.

Jeannie said she and her husband have been trying to contact Griggs, who they think became homeless when his nephew moved away about six months ago.

"Robert wasn't a violent man, he wasn't a trouble starter. He was just meek and kind," Jeannie Griggs said. "God says to forgive to be forgiven, and we forgive this person, but we do think he should pay for his crime."

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Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Family mourns loss of 72-year-old beaten to death at Compass Point