These comments droning about shoddy journalism were posted before the trial got into full swing. Since then, we have seen many of the Prosecution's own witnesses refute the testimony Sy ray provided to the Grand Jury making Mr. Martinez look completely inept. Also, for those following the trial, Sy ray hasn't even testified and the Defense has already started. Looks like it wasn't shoddy journalism after all and Sgt. Ray used this railroading to get a promotion. The GPD let him do this, proving they are all a bunch of bumbling douche bags.
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A Gilbert Detective Crossed the Line to Turn Doug Grant’s Wife’s Bathtub Drowning Into a Murder Case
Ray explained that the official cause of death was "drowning, secondary to [Ambien] intoxication" but the manner of death remained undetermined.
"Based on the evidence presented to [the medical examiner] at the time of her death, there was no determination if it is suicide, accidental, homicide. It's left undetermined so it can be later determined."
The newlyweds pose after their remarriage with sons Marley and Braven at the Excalibur in Vegas.
Peter Storch
Faylene Grant's gravestone in Mesa.
The prosecutor asked the grand jurors if they had any questions of Ray.
They did.
One question concerned Faylene's baffling spill off the Utah cliff shortly before she drowned.
"So did she talk to anyone about what she perceived happened to her?" a juror asked.
"She did not talk to anybody," Ray said. "[Faylene's family] said she was never alone after that incident. That when she was visited by anybody, that Doug was always present."
Another panelist asked whether Hilary had known that "something is going down, that in the very near future she could move into his family."
Ray replied, "When I spoke to her, she admitted that she had a good indication that something would happen, and that she would be able to get back with Doug in a short period of time."
That sounded as if Hilary had been in on it, though she wasn't facing charges.
The juror asked the detective if Hilary had told him why she hadn't gone to the police.
"No," Ray said.
The grand jury soon voted 13-0 to indict Doug Grant for first-degree murder.
Sy Ray had been most convincing, and the tenor of the grand jury's questions made it seem as though they wanted to string up Doug Grant on the spot.
But a biased detective, with no defense attorney cross-examining him and no one seriously questioning anything he says, does not a conviction make.
It would take months to sort out Ray's labyrinth of misstatements to the panel.
Doug's attorney, Mel McDonald, would later refer to the detective's testimony as a passel of "lies." That strong a characterization ordinarily might be chalked up to typical defense hyperbole, but not this time.
Ray's account was way off base in critical instances, and each inaccuracy hurt Doug Grant.
The detective never told the jurors about Faylene Grant's belief that she would die young (or about her history of suicidal thoughts, which she noted in her diary as recently as a year or so before she died — not five years, as Ray had claimed). Ray also failed to mention her glowing written and verbal descriptions of her relationship with Doug after their remarriage.
"I am choosing to give up the life I have that is perfectly the way I want it!" she had written in her diary three weeks before her death. "I finally have a husband who treats me with love and respect that is even beyond what I could dream of!"
The detective's error-ridden testimony added new layers to an already unpredictable case:
• Ray had been wrong about Doug Grant and Hilary DeWitt's staying at the Riviera two weeks before Doug's remarriage to Faylene.
They hadn't left Arizona that weekend.
The detective said later that Faylene's close friend (and Hilary's first cousin) Page DeWitt had been the source of that information, which Page has denied.
The obvious implication of his testimony was that Doug was a self-centered cad who had returned to the Riviera with Faylene after so recently having been canoodling with his young lover at the same place.
• Ray also was wrong in claiming that Doug and Faylene hadn't stayed or gotten married at the Excalibur, as Doug had claimed. A marriage certificate showed they had exchanged vows at the Canterbury Wedding Chapel at the medieval-themed hotel.
That mattered only because Grant allegedly told the detective that the similarity between the plotline of First Knight and his own situation with Faylene and Hilary had struck him after seeing the painting of Lancelot at the hotel.
Detective Ray never revealed to the panel that Doug had told him in their July 2002 interview that Faylene first had identified with the movie as a metaphor for her life, and scribbled dialogue from it into her Book of Mormon, the LDS' sacred text.
• Ray was deceptive when he told jurors that he wasn't sure whether Doug Grant knew that Faylene's life insurance policy hadn't been bumped up yet from $300,000 to $860,000.
The detective had earlier asked Page DeWitt in an interview if she knew about the life insurance policies in Faylene's name.
DeWitt said Doug had mentioned to her after Faylene's death that "we had applied for a larger policy, but it wasn't approved yet."
That and other key exchanges between Ray and Page DeWitt didn't turn up in the detective's skimpy, one-page January 2003 police report on their interview.
In an April 2007 deposition, Ray told Mel McDonald about DeWitt's comment concerning the status of Faylene's life insurance, "We never had that conversation."
Ray earlier swore in an affidavit that he had not taped DeWitt, but he had. The detective didn't yet know that McDonald's secretary had uncovered a portion of the DeWitt interview that popped up at the end of a tape of another recorded interview.
17 comments
Rubin's obvious bias toward grant is so obvious its beyond silly. You have tom read between the lines to read the facts; the evidence; and when you do that its pretty obvious what happened. The love of money is the root of all evil; and murder is the ultimate evil.
From other articles i have read; jim Mcelyea was set up by the eaves with the promise of a loan to get him out of safford for his and his boys safety. The loan was a hoax;the police needed a direct confession from grant and they set up this guy who; according to the news article; had been hounded by the eaves to testify. even though they had mcelyea draw up a business plan on how the money would be used to start a new business in another state. Sounds like he may have grounds for libel from this publication.
For the sake of time, which part of the article WASN'T biased? You don't know Doug Grant, you are some lame wanna be journalist. If you'd like to get to know some TRUTH about Doug Grant, please visit this website: http://www.topix.com/forum/cou...
You're probably not MAN enough to post this on your site, we'll see.
Once again your journalism is found wanting. I can't believe you still have a job after this. Bigotry abounds. Who cares if she is a "Mormom". What religion is everyone else in the story? Oh, I forgot, it doesn't matter. The fact is that 99% of us believe in a God and Heaven and Hell. So big deal if some of the players are "Mormon" in this story.
Next, where are the opinions of the victims family, and the prosecuting attorneys. This story came out because the defense probably asked you to write it to help Doug Grant in the minds eye of the public. This is not balanced journalism. It is a crucificion of a detective trying to do his job and it is done purely by the defense to try and show how incompetent the detective was as a defense for Doug Grant. Whether or not the detective was incompetent, which I think he was, does not preclude Doug Grant's innocence or guilt. Fair and balanced journalism is what it is, and this is definitely not fair or balanced. I hope you get fired for not doing your due diligence.
In the end Doug Grant will be convicted because the prosecutors wisely did not give their case away in a biased, slanted, news article. You will look like the foolish writer you show yourself to be.
I have read these stories about the death of Faylene Grant with great interest. They were VERY thought-provoking. I obviously have no idea if Mr. Grant is guilty as charged or not, though my gut tells me that he's only guilty of being a self-centered ass. I am very troubled by the actions of Detective Ray. My brother in law is a detective with a local agency (not Gilbert) and after reading the story said that, if the writer is being factual, Detective Ray ought to be bumped back to patrol ASAP rather than be promoted and praised. If you're going to "get" someone, get them clean, not the way he's trying to railroad this defendant. Let me also send my condolences to Faylene's family for their loss. Whatever happened, it was a tragedy.
Some of you make me sick. A woman has lost her life, children have lost there mother due to deciet , lies and manipulations, and all you can say is, boy what crooked cop.
Let's not overlook the fact; A young beautiful woman lost her life to a man that is more capable of understanding how meds affect our body then most. And while she continued to die her husband is coming and answering the door, suppositly in a panic. Obviously the man knew CPR, he is a qualified something right? You don't leave giving CPR. People have done Cpr to strangers for hours waiting for help & this man who loved this woman so much he married her twice, gave him 2 additional children, STOPPED doing CPR to come to the door.???? The police, emergency staff. DO NOT wait patienly at the door. They bust in. As well as a neighbor, she doesn't just wait for someone. I think this is Sad Journalism.
They only people in Vegas when they got married the 2nd time ; was Doug, Faylene and ther 2 beautiful boys. WHERE DO YOU THINK THESE PICTURES CAME FROM? DOUG.
DOUG.
DOUG!!!!
Since Faylene is no longer with us, and the boys I'm sure r not readers of the New Times yet.
SO ALL OF YOU READERS, DON'T YOU THINK THIS IS A LITTLE SLANTED. DOUG GRANT IS MANIPULATING THE PUBLIC JUST LIKE HIS WIFE. AND YOU WONDER HOW IT HAPPENED TO HIS WIFE;
IT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU.
Im actually still shaking my head in disbelief about this story..they can actually lie at grand jury proceedings? Isnt that the basis for the steriod/athlete convictions, perjury?? I cant even begin to fathom how this POS is getting away with lying to a grand jury, or even how a case with more holes than a civ could actually get this far..and here i thought the whole part of the process was to find the truth and punish the criminal..guess its to help ignorant, worthless cops have a chance at promotions...
Isn't this the same Doug Grant associated with Don Lapre and the Greatest Vitamin in the World? If so, where is the background on that?
I have read with interest the story of Doug and Faylene Grant. The whole thing is so far from the life our Father in Heaven wishes for us. Our time here is to be spent proving ourselves, proving our commitment to Our Father and loving those around us so they might learn of His plan for us.
My understanding is that if infidelity occurs in a marriage the person committing the act must show repentance by abandoning any relationship he/she has with another person. Never will a relationship developed through infidelity be recognized by our Father as one worthy of Celestial sanction.
I am so sorry for Faylene�s duping. I am so sorry that she missed the chance to raise her children; that she allowed the man she loved to convince her that she didn�t need to live, that he and a 19 year old child could do a better job of parenting than the heavenly ordained mother of those children could. With all Faylene�s prayer and study, I am surprised that she could believe she had the authority to �invite� an adulterer to sit at her table. While it is our responsibility to forgive those who trespass against us, only God can wash them clean and extend the invitation to sit at His table.
My prayers for the spirits of all misguided souls to turn God for truth and to listen to His voice for the answers, I pray that we won�t allow our selfish desires to confuse the simple truth that Our Father has given us. I am truly sorry that this unfortunate event ever occurred, but since it has, we need trust that God can make it right. Romans 8:28 �All things work together for good to those that love the Lord.�
Signed � MRS- New Mexico
What a horrible horrible display of journalism. You talk of a bad cop; what about a bad jounalist. Did you even allow the defense to give any input or even a statement? You should be fired for such a one sided article when there are real people, families and lives at stake here. Whether Doug is guilty or innocent, both sides should be reported by you.
After reading the first part of the story last week I was so anxious to read the second part of this article. All week I have been thinking to myself, and talking to some co workers who also have read the article and the big question we all had concerning this case was how did it even pass through the grand jury??? This is an obvious suicide case! and then this week�s article came out and hit it right on the nose , the answer we were waiting for�. A crooked cop tells a one-sided story to the jury and then lies multiple times to sway the jury to indict Mr. grant�Sergeant Ray sounds like the biggest scum bag crooked cop that has ever walked the streets. He should serve jail time for all of his misrepresentations and lies he told in front of the grand jury... Its funny how he was promoted for "solving a case" whatever happened to innocent until otherwise proven guilty in a court of law??? The only thing that has been solved is that Sergeant Ray is a sorry excuse for a Sergeant and a JOKE of a cop! How long can Mr. Ray and the family of Faylene get away with what they has done to the life of Mr. Grant? It blows my mind how just because of a little gold badge that he can get away with what he wants... how come no one has been brave enough to step up and call him out publicly until now??? Whats taken so long?
Surely for any student who has taken Psych 101, it's clear that Faylene was using religion as a rationalization to believe her life and kids were Ok with this sick sociopath. For starters, no man who is a sexual addict and cheated repeatedly on his wife is going anywhere near the Celestial Kingdom according to LDS doctrine. Sometimes we just believe what we have to in order to surrvive...My heart goes out to Fay and her family; we surrvived the sociopath in ours but clearly she did not.
What's with all the stories suddenly where you point out that the person is Mormon in the headline? How does that really have anything to do with the overall story? It's not like these are polygamy stories, now are they? I don't see you mentioning Arpaio's religion in the stories you write about him, what about that scam artist from last week? His religion wasn't mentioned in the headline either. I don't see Andy Thomas' religion making it into the headlines either.I could understand it when you had the stories on Thomas O'Brien, since his title was related to his religion, and part of the overall story was about how he acted, even though his title should have made him act differently. Making sure to place 'Mormon' near 'murder' in your headlines is just tackySorry, I have been a new times fan for almost 25 years, but this is a little annoying, and I'm not even religious, let alone Mormon.
So, let�s see if I�ve got this straight. Doug dumps his YOUNGER girlfriend, and remarries his wife because God is calling her to Heaven. He get�s the kids (without paying child support), the settlement money, and the life insurance money. There is only one stipulation. He has to MARRY the YOUNGER girlfriend after his wife dies. Oh yes, and the wife has never been happier!
Now poor Doug is being tried for murder because a corrupt cop has manipulated the grand jury!
Someone has got to put this fairytale to an end. Hopefully Juan Martinez can do that.
I DON'T APPRECIATE YOUR COMIC PORTRAYL PICTURES.I THINK THAT THEY ARE A INSULT TO A VERY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.
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