Who Killed Byron Griffy: All the Twists in the Mortician Murder Case

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The town of Florence, Colorado was deeply shocked when Byron Griffy was killed just a day before his 77th birthday in 2012.

According to Carol Coates, a former captain with the Otero County Sheriff’s Office, Byron was a well-known and respected figure in the community. “Almost everyone knew him,” she said in the new Investigation Discovery series, The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder, which begins airing November 26th.

And authorities knew they had quite the mystery on their hands when they saw the crime scene.

On October 12, 2012, the funeral home director was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. His daughter and her wife discovered him in an empty bedroom of the family’s farmhouse, which they had recently left due to several reported break-ins.

I’ve been following this case obsessively, and the details are just… chilling. Detective Coates said there were absolutely no signs of a fight – no defensive wounds on the victim, nothing. And the house wasn’t broken into, which means whoever did this was let in or already had a key. But the worst part? Coroner Bob Fowler, who officially called it a homicide, said the blood spatter was unlike anything he’s ever seen in his entire career. It’s just… haunting. I can’t stop thinking about it.

According to Otero County District Attorney James Bullock, as detailed in a three-part documentary, Byron was positioned as if he were in a coffin, lying on his back. Bullock stated that the scene appeared to be deliberately arranged.

Byron had a collection of coins, old money, and antiques, which he stored in a hidden room filled with safes, according to his daughter, Linette Griffy, in the documentary series.

After leaving the farm, he became very frightened and convinced someone was attempting to steal his money, according to his daughter-in-law, Gina Griffy.

Linette found it strange that her father had scheduled a meeting with funeral home owners Anthony Wright and Charles Giebler at the farm on the day he passed away, especially because her family hadn’t lived there for some time.

Investigators initially considered multiple people in connection with the case, as described in The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder, but their focus quickly narrowed to Anthony and Charles.

Here is what to know about the shocking case:

I was so saddened to learn about the passing of Byron Griffy. He was a true pillar of our community. Born on October 13, 1935, in Ninaview, Colorado, he dedicated his life to serving others. After graduating from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1958, he worked at several funeral homes before fulfilling his dream of opening Griffy Family Funeral Home right here in Fowler. He’ll be deeply missed.

Linette Griffy, one of Byron’s daughters, shared in the 2025 documentary The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder that her dad always looked after everyone. When she returned home with her three children, he bought them a house with some land, hoping the kids would enjoy growing up with space to roam.

Byron shared a farm with Linette, her wife Gina Griffy, and their family until late 2011. They decided to move after several break-in attempts and, disturbingly, the discovery of a noose hanging in their barn.

Gina said Byron, who collects old coins and antiques, worried someone was attempting to steal from him.

Anthony Wright, co-owner of Charles-Anthony Funeral Home, shared in the series that he and his partner, Charles Giebler, went to visit fellow mortician Byron on October 12, 2012, to take him out to lunch – just the day before Byron’s 76th birthday.

In the documentary, Anthony stated that the gate to the farm was already locked when he and Charles arrived around noon, according to his interview with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

As a long-time follower of this case, I’ve learned that investigators found two unanswered calls on Byron’s phone – the first was from Charles at 12:43 p.m. Apparently, Anthony told the CBI they did try to find Byron’s new place near Fowler, driving around for a bit, but couldn’t locate it, so they just headed back to Florence, Colorado – a full hour drive.

When Byron missed dinner, Linette and Gina told us they went to the farm to search for him.

Gina discovered Byron’s body in an empty room of their former home. He had died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

As a longtime follower of the case, I remember former Otero County Sheriff’s Captain Carol Coates describing the crime scene in the series. She said there wasn’t much blood, and I’ve always stuck with her recollection – she actually used the word ‘weird’ to describe how strange it all was.

As a lifestyle expert who’s followed this case closely, I found the District Attorney, James Bullock’s, observations particularly striking. He described the way Byron’s body was found – positioned on his back, almost as if laid out in a coffin – and suggested it didn’t look natural, like the scene had been deliberately arranged.

Charles and Anthony took care of all the funeral arrangements, and according to Gina, almost everyone in town came to Byron’s service on October 19th.

Charles, who was also a church deacon, delivered the eulogy.

Okay, so get this – the investigators found out Byron actually asked Charles and Anthony to hold onto some of his coins! Can you believe it? It just proves he trusted them, and honestly, it makes my heart soar to think about those three together, even if it’s just over a coin collection. It’s such a small detail, but it feels HUGE, you know? It shows their connection… I’m telling you, they were close!

In the ID series, Anthony revealed he has a secure basement room where he keeps valuable items, including those belonging to Byron. As a collector of things like guns, guitars, and cars, he uses the room to store his prized possessions.

In the show, Gina claimed that after Charles and Anthony took his coins, Byron repeatedly tried to contact them to record what he’d kept with them. However, Linette stated that they were consistently unavailable.

In an interview, former Sheriff’s Captain Coates revealed they began to suspect the owners of the funeral home – who also ran a guitar shop and restaurant – were concealing something.

During his 2015 murder trial, Anthony stated, according to the Cañon City Daily Record, that Byron gave him money because Byron feared a lawsuit from the teenager he had sexually abused and wanted to conceal the funds.

According to the Daily Record, Byron admitted to sexually assaulting a child in May 2012. The victim reported the abuse happened over two years while they both worked at the Griffy Funeral Home in Fowler.

Byron was sentenced to four years of probation and 150 hours of community service.

The case took a surprising turn in January 2013 when police discovered that Charles and Anthony weren’t brothers, as they had claimed when they began working in town during the 1990s—they were actually a couple.

In the show, Anthony explained that he and Charles, a former mayor of Florence, had stopped being romantically involved long before the news became public.

Charles passed away on January 25, 2013, from heart disease, as reported by the Pueblo Chieftain. This happened while authorities were still investigating the murder of Byron.

Shortly before he passed away, Charles confided in Anthony’s girlfriend, Laura Anderson, that he and Anthony were in a romantic relationship, according to both Anthony and Laura in the series.

Anthony said he always suspected Charles held grudges. He anticipated trouble down the line, but hoped they could resolve it.

Anthony was charged in August 2013 with first-degree murder.

He denied the charges, and his 2015 trial ended without a decision when the jury couldn’t agree after two days of discussion.

In January 2017, Anthony pleaded guilty to being an accessory to first-degree murder, as reported by the Daily Record. He faced a new trial and the potential for a life sentence, but instead received a 10-year probation sentence.

Anthony, still claiming he didn’t commit the crime, explained in the documentary that his lawyer told him retrials after a mistrial almost always result in a conviction.

Ultimately, he said, he “didn’t see a way out” and “just had to take the plea.”

The new ID documentary, The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder, will debut on Wednesday, November 26th at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central time. You can also watch it on HBO Max.

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2025-11-26 11:18