Man killed grandmother, grandkids on way to church

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Diontre Tigner (Fulton County Sheriff) and Dorothy Wright, Cameron Costner, Layla Partridge, and the scene of the fatal crash (WSB screenshots)

A 24-year-old man in Georgia will likely spend the remainder of his days behind bars for killing a grandmother and her two young grandchildren as they were on their way to church.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly M. Esmond Adams on Monday ordered Diontre Tigner to serve a sentence of life in prison with the possibility for parole plus an additional six years for the 2016 deaths of 75-year-old Dorothy Wright, 12-year-old grandson Cameron Costner, and 6-year-old Layla Partridge, authorities confirmed to Law&Crime.

A Fulton County jury on Friday took less than one hour to find Tigner guilty on all 15 counts he was facing in connection to the three tragic deaths, including felony murder and leaving the scene of an accident, Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB reported.

According to the report, a then-16-year-old Tigner on the morning of Jan. 31, 2016, stole a Chevrolet Suburban from a Westin hotel and then led police on a 10-minute high-speed chase — reaching speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour through residential neighborhoods — before he ran a stop sign and crashed directly into Wright’s car. The retired schoolteacher was taking both of the children to First St. Peter AME Church, something she reportedly did every Sunday morning.

The force of the accident caused Wright’s Buick LeSabre to flip over and ejected young Layla a substantial distance from the vehicle, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Authorities reportedly did not realize that the little girl had been in the car for several hours until they discovered her body several feet from the crash, hidden within shrubbery.

Following the fatal accident, Tigner fled the scene on foot. He evaded law enforcement for years before he was finally apprehended in 2021 and charged in connection with the family’s deaths.

According to a report from Atlanta CBS affiliate WANF, during Monday’s sentencing hearing, Adams said that during the six years Tigner spent on the lam, he continued to commit numerous crimes, including carjackings. She also noted that while the jury did not hear evidence of such criminal activity unrelated to the fatal crash, she considered such facts when handing down Tigner’s final sentence.

“I can’t unknow what I now know. You engaged in this action when you were 16, but years later you were still stealing cars,” the judge reportedly said.

Layla Partridge’s father spoke to Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA following Tigner’s sentencing hearing, saying he thought Tigner should have been put away for life without the chance for parole.

“Everybody is looking for an excuse for this young man; meanwhile, we got kids we left in the cemetery; they didn’t ask for that,” he told the station.

Joi Partridge, Wright’s daughter and the mother of both children, reportedly said she was “glad he got life (in prison).”

In the wake of her family members’ deaths, Joi Partridge started The Dorothy S. Wright Foundation, a nonprofit that assists grieving families who have lost children but are without insurance. Donations to the organization can be made here.