JAMAYA GRIFFITH (Griffin) - 7 yo (2006) - Hattiesburg MS

More than three years after her body was found hidden in a closet,
the man accused of killing 7-year-old Jamaya Griffin of Hattiesburg
faces a trial starting Monday.
Johnny Ray Sims, 39, is accused of capital murder in the March 2006 slaying of
Jamaya, whose body was found in a closet in Sims' Bassfield home.Jury selection begins Monday in Jefferson Davis Circuit Court.Jamaya,
who attended Lillie Burney Elementary School, was visiting her
great-grandmother in Bassfield when she was kidnapped after she went
outside to ride her bicycle.Her body was found about three hours later. Sims was Jamaya's great-grandmother's neighbor.Jamaya was stabbed repeatedly, an autopsy revealed, and her attacker also tried to strangle and smother her.Capital
murder, which carries the possibility of the death penalty, occurs when
a murder was committed during the commission of another felony - in
Sims' case, kidnapping, according to court documents.Sims
was convicted in 1994 of robbery in Jeff Davis County. Records also
show a conviction in Marion County for aggravated assault.District Attorney Hal Kittrell declined to say if prosecutors are going to seek the death penalty in Sims' trial."You can assume by the very nature of it that it carries the death penalty," he said.Alison Steiner of Jackson, Sims' court-appointed attorney, declined to comment.

A mistrial was declared after defense attorneys said
potential jurors were exposed to information that could have prevented
an impartial verdict in the trial of a Bassfield man accused of killing
a 7-year-old Hattiesburg girl.

Circuit Judge Prentiss Harrell granted a mistrial Monday in the trial of Johnny Ray Sims.

Sims’ attorney declined to say what information was presented to the potential jurors.

The case will be set for a retrial with different potential jurors, but a new trial date has not been set.

The 39-year-old Sims is accused of capital murder in the March 2006 slaying
of Jamaya Griffin. Investigators found the girl’s body in a closet in
Sims’ home.

An autopsy showed Griffin was stabbed repeatedly in the throat, face, neck and abdomen, causing internal bleeding.

Stressful. That's how Arthur Griffith describes the time since his
7-year-old daughter, Jamaya, was killed four years ago.
Griffith said he even had to seek medical help to be able to cope
with the trauma of losing his child in a violent manner.But Griffith has been at the courthouse every day of
the capital murder trial of Jamaya's alleged killer.Johnny Ray Sims, 40, is accused of killing Jamaya on
March 1, 2006.His
trial started Monday in Jefferson Davis County Circuit Court.Jamaya was a Lillie
Burney Elementary student from Hattiesburg who went missing while
visiting her great-grandmother near Bassfield. Jamaya's body was found
in a closet in Sims' home several hours later.Griffith said he works a night shift at Marshall
Durbin and has been coming to the Jefferson Davis Courthouse every
morning right after work so he can be present for Sims' trial."I just feel like it's
important that I be here for her," Griffith said. "I just miss Jamaya."Griffith said the
actual trial has been very trying for him and other family members.
Griffith left the courtroom Tuesday while photos were shown of his slain
daughter, and he avoided seeing the most graphic photos Wednesday
morning."It's a
nightmare, and I hope they will just get it over with so we can have
some closure," Griffith said.Wednesday began with the testimony of former state
pathologist Dr. Stephen Hayne. He said he ruled the death a homicide
after his examination.Hayne,
who left the state pathologist position in August 2008, said Jamaya had
been stabbed 12 times.Jamaya
had two stab wounds in her facial area and five stab wounds in the
front part of her neck - including a lethal wound to her left jugular,
Hayne said.Hayne
said Jamaya had been stabbed five times in the chest and abdomen area.
Three of the wounds - one in each lung and one in the abdomen - were
considered lethal, Hayne said.Hayne said Jamaya also had superficial injuries to the
face and neck area that were consistent with incomplete strangulation.
Jamaya also had tearing and bleeding in her genital area, Hayne said.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Horan asked Hayne if a kitchen knife
found in Sims' home was consistent with the stab wounds and Hayne said
yes.
Defense attorney Deborah Gambrell asked Hayne if he could testify
under oath whether the knife was in fact the murder weapon.Hayne said he could not
say for a fact that it was.The prosecution called several witnesses and asked
them questions regarding the chain of custody of the evidence in the
case.Gambrell
consistently held an objection to items being admitted because she
ascertained there were inconsistencies with the chain of custody.Gambrell questioned the
fact that some of the seals on certain evidence packages were broken.
She pointed out the slits in the seal on the box containing the knife
and said a bag containing underwear was accessible because of a hole in
it."It should be
intact when we come to this court," Gambrell told former Jefferson Davis
County Chief Deputy Ronnie Barnes while he was on the stand. "As a law
enforcement officer it is your job to protect the integrity of the
evidence, is it not?""That's
correct," Barnes said.Barnes
said the seals were intact when he delivered the evidence to the
district attorney's investigator.On a redirect during Barnes' testimony, Horan held up
an evidence bag containing a shoe and tore into it. Horan then said
there was nothing unusual about a district attorney looking into the
evidence. Horan maintained that all the items had been sent to the state
crime lab and no lawyers had asked for retesting of the evidence.Later, during the
questioning of Investigator Larry Moore of the 15th Circuit District
Attorney's Office, District Attorney Hal Kittrell moved to have the shoe
submitted as evidence.Gambrell
objected on the grounds that the evidence had been compromised."The only compromise
was when Mr. Horan ripped open that bag in court today," Kittrell said.Judge Prentiss Harrell
allowed the evidence to be admitted.Later in the day, fingerprint expert Paul Wilkerson
Jr., of the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory, testified he had found a
print from the left middle finger of Sims and a left hand palm print -
also Sims' - on the crossbar of Jamaya's bicycle.Wilkerson said he was 100 percent certain no one else
could have put those prints there except for Sims.However, Wilkerson said he was unable to get solid
prints from the kitchen knife. Wilkerson said the knife had a rough
handle and prints did not adhere to it very well.

JOHNNY RAY SIMS GUILTY OF MURDER

PRENTISS, MS (WDAM) - A jury has found Johnny Ray Sims guilty of capital murder.

Sims, 40, is now convicted of the March 2006
stabbing death of 7-year-old Jamaya Griffith, a second grader at Lilly
Burney school in Hattiesburg who was kidnapped while visiting her great
grandmother in Bassfield.

Friday morning, the defense motioned for a
direct verdict and asked the charge of capital murder be dismissed. The
defense said the state had failed to prove the underlying offense of
kidnapping occurred.

Judge Harrell denied the motion, saying the victim was confined and not in a place she wanted to be.

Steven Hayne, who preformed the autopsy on
Jamaya Griffith took the stand Thursday morning and testified there were
12 stab wounds on the body of Griffith, as well as bruises and
abrasions and also tears and injuries to her vaginal area.

Photos of the body were also shown to the jury.

Sims did not testify in his own defense.
Also, the defense did not call any witnesses. Sims entered a written
statement saying he didn't want any of the potential witnessed called.

Jamaya's sister and grandmother took the stand earlier in the week.

Jamaya's sister, 10-year-old Jane' Griffith,
said Johnny Ray Sims approached her while standing on her grandmother's
porch and asked if she wanted to see his big screen television. Sims
eventually turned away, she said, and that's when Jane's says Jamaya
followed Sims on her bike.

More than 4 years ago, Jamaya was visiting
her great-grandmother on Doc Bass Lane in Jefferson Davis County. She
was last seen riding her bicycle, only to be found dead wearing just a
t-shirt and socks underneath a pile of clothing inside a closet at Sims'
home, also on Doc Bass Lane.
http://www.wdam.com/Global/story.asp?S=12221001