Defendant Describes ‘Playfully’ Choking Ex-Girlfriend Before Her Death

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The trial for a man charged with fatally choking his ex-girlfriend continued on Sept. 27 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Yvette Bryant.

Roderick Griffin is charged with first-degree murder, false imprisonment, and theft valued between $1,500 and $25,000 in connection to an incident on April 10, 2020.

According to the detective’s testimony, there was a missing person report filed on April 10, 2020, on the 5500 block of Alameda. The detective filed a request for a search warrant. Once the warrant was issued, officers investigated the home and found the body of 72-year-old Lillian Herndon in the closet of the main bedroom. After medical examiners arrived, they gave an autopsy report that showed the cause of death was due to asphyxiation.

Eleven days after the crime, Griffin, 58, was found on Taylor Avenue in the victim’s vehicle and began to flee from officers once he was spotted. The encounter ended in a high-speed chase, with the defendant crashing his car on Sinclair Lane. There were no injuries reported.

Police said the defendant was brought in for an interview after being arrested and confessed to his crime.

The prosecution showed the jury a video of the interview in which the defendant stated he and the victim were initially in an intimate relationship, but a year later, the defendant wanted their relationship to be platonic.

The victim allowed the defendant to stay at her house and wanted the defendant to help in some way which he never did.

In the interview, the defendant claimed the victim would remind him that he was a burden and requested he leave her house due to unpaid bills and missing items, claiming he always stole things.

The prosecution also presented phone records. In those records, the defendant had mentioned to family and friends that something bad would happen if he stayed there longer, but nobody would help.

On April 10, the victim told the defendant to be out of her house by 8:30 a.m, which infuriated him. The two got into an argument and the defendant claims he pushed her to the ground and choked her “playfully,” which led to her murder.

In closing arguments, defense attorney Todd Oppenheim argued for the defendant to be charged with manslaughter instead first-degree murder. The defense claimed the crime happened in the heat of the moment. The defendant had no intent to kill the victim and was provoked over two years of bombardment. The defense rested after.

The jury entered into deliberations and set to continue on Sept. 28.