Barbaric dad set sleeping daughter, two, on fire in desert in 'heinous' act

Daily Mirror

05-06-2025

Murderer Shawn Grell, 50, killed his two-year-old daughter in the most "heinous, cruel and depraved way" after setting her alight in the desert, according to the Arizona Supreme Court
A barbaric and "cruel" dad who set fire to his two-year-old daughter while she was sleeping in the desert has died in jail. Murderer Shawn Grell, 50, was discovered by prison officers in the Arizona Prison Complex on April 19. No details were disclosed about his death.
'All inmate deaths are investigated in consultation with the county medical examiner's office,' the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry said in a statement.
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The killer had spent 26 years in jail after he picked up his daughter, Kristen Salem, from childcare on December 2, 1999, and took her to McDonald's. After they left, he told her they would see Christmas lights, but he drove to Target to purchase a petrol can and some diesel.
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Grell drove to a desert in Arizona, laid Kristen on the ground, poured diesel on her and set her on fire, according to harrowing court documents. She briefly woke up and stumbled before falling to the ground.
After the "heinous, cruel and depraved" killing of his daughter, he drove to a nearby store and purchased some beer. Grell drove for hours before eventually calling police and turning himself in. He confessed to killing her the next day, with no trace of emotion.
'I took the gasoline and I poured it on her,' he told investigators during a police interview. 'I took the match and threw it on her."
The court ruled the horrendous killing was committed in an 'especially heinous, cruel, and depraved manner' and Grell was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to the death penalty.
However, this was overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court in 2013, which said his death sentence was "cruel and unusual punishment."
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It came after the Supreme Court in 2022 determined that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment to administer the death penalty to people with "mental deficiencies."
'Because of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment, and control of their impulses, however, they do not act with the level of moral culpability that characterizes the most serious adult criminal conduct,' the Supreme Court ruled.
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It comes after another father allegedly smashed his one-year-old daughter's head on the floor in a drunken rage because she wouldn't stop crying, according to police.
Suresh Dore, 40, was taken into custody by authorities on Sunday after he was accused of murdering his daughter during a violent drunken outburst.
Police in India allege the man killed the little girl by smashing her head on the floor after he was irritated by her crying. The suspect tried to flee the scene but was quickly captured by police.
"If he had fled, it would have been difficult to nab him as he doesn't own a mobile phone and is a daily wager," police inspector Prasad Pandhare said. Dore, who has four children from three wives, has been accused previously of violence in the home, police say.