Suspected shooter, his estranged wife and their son among 4 dead in Latimer murder-suicide

The suspected shooter in a domestic violence-related murder-suicide shot and killed his estranged wife, the couple’s adult son and their son’s ex-wife Thursday night.

The suspect, identified as Thomas “Tom” Griswold, 64, then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide, Jackson County sheriff’s deputies believe based on their investigation.

Deputies identified the dead, in addition to Griswold, as:

• Veronica Griswold, 64, Tom Griswold’s estranged wife
• Bjorn “BJ” Griswold, 36, Tom and Veronica Griswold’s son
• Jillian Pavolini, 39, “BJ” Griswold’s ex-wife

All four died of gunshot wounds.

Deputies found the deceased after responding to a 911 call about shots fired in the couple’s son’s home on Oak View Circle in Jackson County around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The neighborhood is off Tucker Road in the Latimer community.

Deputies heard the final shot, believed to be when Tom Griswold shot and killed himself just as deputies drove up.

The case remains under investigation as a murder-suicide.

This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 9:37 AM.

Margaret Baker

Sun Herald

601-909-0541

Margaret is an investigative reporter whose search for truth exposed corrupt sheriffs, a police chief and various jailers and led to the first prosecution of a federal hate crime for the murder of a transgendered person. She worked on the Sun Herald’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Hurricane Katrina team. When she pursues a big story, she is relentless.