Teen girl, 28-year-old man charged in deaths of her parents and another family member

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (FOX Carolina/Gray News) - Three people were found dead inside a home, and the 16-year-old daughter of two of the victims and another man are being charged with murder, according to authorities in North Carolina.

Devan Oneal Loving, 28, and Star Grant, 16, are both facing three counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Star Grant is being charged as an adult, according to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded Thursday for a welfare check on Ashworth Drive in Fairview. It was the third welfare check at the home since Monday, authorities said.

Law enforcement arrived and found three people dead with gunshot wounds at the home. Police believe the three had been deceased for several days before they were found.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as 41-year-old Travis Eugene Grant, 42-year-old Kimberly Michelle Grant and 66-year-old Sharon Harwood Grant.

Officials said Travis Grant and Kimberly Grant were married and that Sharon Grant is Travis Grant’s mother.

Detectives determined during the investigation that Star Grant, the 16-year-old daughter of Travis and Kimberly Grant who lives at the home, was missing.

The teen was located Friday morning in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, accompanied by Loving, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies believe the two may have been in the state for several days.

Gatlinburg police said the pair were taken into custody at an Ownby Street hotel and questioned about the Buncombe County deaths.

Buncombe County deputies traveled to Gatlinburg to interview the suspects, which led to them being charged with murder, according to officials.

Loving and Star Grant will face an extradition hearing in Tennessee before being brought to Buncombe County, where they could face the death penalty, officials said.

The investigation is still ongoing. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Gatlinburg Police Department are assisting.

Neighbors shocked

Saylor Tagner grew up next door to 16-year-old Star Grant and her parents, Travis and Kimberly Grant.

“They treated me like I was their own, and it felt awesome,” Tagner said.

She said she met Star Grant in their neighborhood when they were both in elementary school, and the two quickly became friends.

“She would take care of me at school. If someone was bullying me or something, she would stand up for me. It’s so weird to expect my neighbor to do all that and it’s the one I grew up with. I was at their house constantly,” Tagner said. “Her family was great to me. They treated me well. She was an amazing person to me.”

Saylor’s father said Star Grant was a familiar face around the neighborhood.

“Everybody that would drive by would wave to Star because they just knew her,” he said. “I didn’t believe it because if you knew Star, she was a good kid. She’d come over here. She always had a dog with her.”

Tagner and her father said they never witnessed tension within the family and are still trying to process what happened, describing Star Grant and her parents as good people.

“I didn’t know how to feel, so I just felt kind of scared, honestly,” Tagner said.