Victim gunned down by vicious ex while on phone to her mum

Jessica Griffin stayed in her relationship with killer Jesce Richt to keep her family alive but it eventually caught up with her when after yet another split he came looking for her - armed

Jessica Griffin’s journey from her workplace to her mother’s house took just 20 minutes, but even though they were about to see each other, they chatted on the phone the whole way. Jessica’s mum, Greer, was helping her daughter through a difficult time, and was desperate to keep her safe, so Jessica was staying at her home. As Jessica pulled into the driveway, and into her mum’s garage, Greer suddenly heard a scream down the phone. Within seconds, it was followed by several gunshots. Greer knew exactly what had happened – and who had just murdered her daughter.

It was April 2023, and Jessica had been trying to start again after getting out of an abusive relationship. Jessica had dated Jesce Richt on and off for two decades after meeting him when she was just 14. Richt was also known as Paul Watterson. Jessica had two children. A son with Richt and a daughter from a different relationship.They were her world. As Jessica navigated her toxic relationship with Richt, she trained as a beauty aesthetician so she could provide for her kids and make people happy with her treatments.

Behind her smile, Jessica was hiding 20 years of trauma. She had filed many restraining orders against Richt, 40, and he had made death threats. There had been several domestic battery charges. The latest application for a protection order revealed just what Jessica had been going through.

She alleged that Richt had held her hostage for almost a year. He’d given her black eyes, broken ribs, strangled her and locked her in cupboards. Jessica said that Richt had told her he was going to kill her and her whole family.

In the court filing, dated 10 April, she detailed how frightened she was. “He went into detail about how he was going to kill me,” she wrote. “Take me into the middle of the desert and stuff me in a pipe. No one would ever find me.”

Tragically, Jessica revealed why she had continued to take Richt back. “I have been with Jesce for the last year to protect my family,” she wrote. “He stated to me that I was saving everyone’s life by being with him and if I wasn’t, we would all be dead.”

Protection order denied

Jessica had endured so much, trying to protect her family. The protection order was denied as there was a different order in place that didn’t expire until early August.

Incredibly, Richt still begged Jessica for another chance. She blocked his number and said their relationship was over, but he wouldn’t accept it. Jessica, 40, was staying with her mum in Verdi, Nevada, and was so frightened she’d been sleeping in her mum’s bed at night. On 17 April, Jessica went to a licensed retailer and bought a gun. She told the salesperson she needed it to defend herself, as at one point, her partner had not allowed her to leave the house for months. The gun was in a box on her mum’s kitchen table when Jessica went to work the next day.

After a day working at a spa, Jessica drove home while on the phone to her mum. At round 7.31pm, Greer heard the automatic garage door open and Jessica pulled her white car inside.

Surveillance footage recorded a man in a black hooded sweatshirt rushing towards the house and pulling something out from under his clothes. Greer heard Jessica scream and cry “no”. Then there were seven gunshots. Greer knew instantly that Richt had terribly hurt her daughter. She raced to the garage, but Jessica couldn’t be saved.

Jessica had been shot in the back and the head, and the wounds were fatal.

Investigators had Richt as the only suspect in the case. The surveillance footage of the figure approaching Jessica was identified as Richt by her family and his father. It also showed him running away after shooting Jessica.

The police discovered that Richt had carried out the killing with a complex plot involving drive-bys and several rental cars They put together a timeline using CCTV.

He rented the first car on 16 April and drove it by Jessica’s mum’s home. He went on to rent two different vehicles leading up to the day of the shooting. Each time, he was stalking around Greer’s neighbourhood or near Jessica’s work. He used a black Honda for the final act.

Community in mourning

Witnesses saw him running from the crime scene, back to the car and took pictures of the Honda fleeing the area.

It took the police a week to track Richt down. A licence plate triggered an alert in Las Vegas. Officers were able to apprehend him in a traffic stop. He had pending court appearances for domestic violence charges against Jessica and another former girlfriend in Las Vegas. Richt was charged with Jessica’s murder and the community mourned the woman who had spent 20 years terrified. The threat had been tragically real.

At the trial this year, the prosecution said Richt had plotted to kill Jessica with an elaborate plan involving rental cars and had hunted her down. He had bought black clothes and had spent the days leading up to the shooting driving around the area and staying in motels. On the night of the shooting, he’d parked around the corner from Greer’s home, waiting. Then the jury watched the murder play out on CCTV.

“This whole case is proven in a five second clip,” the prosecution said. “He committed first-degree felony murder in those five seconds, beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Greer testified and emotionally described hearing her daughter’s last terrifying moments and finding her daughter’s body.

“Oh God. I heard shots. I heard them echo through the house and I could smell the smoke from the gun,” she sobbed. “And I just knew what had happened. I knew right away.”

Jessica’s sister, Christy Stoll, was one of the people who identified Richt in the footage from that night. “The way he swings his arm, his receding hairline, he always wears black, he had a specific walk – that was him, without a doubt,” she told the court. The jury watched the footage and heard the screams on audio. They also watched the figure run away.

The court also heard voice messages Richt had sent Jessica leading up to her death and recorded conversations. Jessica had been trying to collect evidence to use against Richt in court.

Richt could be heard calling her names and physically beating her up. Other former girlfriends had filed protection orders against him and had similar stories of the abuse.After just two hours of deliberation, Richt was found guilty of first-degree murder. In June this year, he was sentenced.

Jessica’s mum spoke about her grief. “The void left by Jessica’s absence is so deep and empty,” she said. “Our family struggles everyday to come to terms with the cruel reality of her not being here each day.

”Richt was given life in prison without the possibility of parole. He still faces additional sentencing for possession of a firearm, which he pleaded guilty to. The judge said Richt had“made a sport out of hunting women”.

Tragically, it appeared Jessica had stayed in the relationship because she feared Richt would hurt her family. She gave her life to protect them all.