Photo: Grayden Lane Denham
PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man has been convicted of killing four of his family members — including an infant — whose bodies were discovered in the aftermath of a 2016 house fire in northwestern Missouri.
A Platte County jury on Tuesday found 30-year-old Grayden Lane Denham guilty of four counts first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action and several other counts.
Killed were his grandparents, 82-year-old Russell Denham and 81-year-old Shirley Denham; his sister, 32-year-old Heather Ager; and Ager’s 3-month-old son, Mason Schiavoni. Their burned bodies were found outside a home near Edgerton on Feb. 19, 2016, and investigators said they all had been shot to death. Prosecutors said Denham torched the home they all shared after the killings.
Prosecutors said Denham was found walking naked in northern Arizona two days after the bodies were found. Prosecutors said Denham had stolen his grandmother’s car after the killings and drove it to Arizona, changing the license plates twice along the way.
Denham’s case faced multiple delays, including in 2020 when he was deemed not mentally fit to stand trial. The court later found him restored to competency, allowing the trial to proceed.
Denham faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he’s sentenced on Feb. 25.
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