16-Year-Old Girl and 28-Year-Old Man Charged in Triple Murder of North Carolina Family

A 16-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man face murder charges after three of the girl's family members were found shot to death in their North Carolina home, authorities said Friday.

Star Grant, 16, and Devon O'Neil Loving, 28, each face three counts of first-degree murder and felony conspiracy to commit murder, according to the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office. Officials are charging Grant as an adult because of the crimes' severity. The Class A felonies carry possible sentences of life imprisonment or the death penalty in North Carolina.

Buncombe County deputies discovered the bodies around 7:15 p.m. Thursday during a welfare check at a house on Ashworth Drive in Fairview. A relative had requested the check after friends and family lost contact with the victims.

Deputies had conducted two earlier welfare checks that week, one on Monday and another on Wednesday. Authorities said they lacked evidence of an emergency to force entry until the third visit.

Inside the home, deputies found Travis Eugene Grant, 41, Kimberly Michelle Grant, 42, and Sharon Harwood Grant, 66, all dead from gunshot wounds. Star Grant is the daughter of Travis and Kimberly Grant and granddaughter of Sharon Grant.

Investigators noticed the 16-year-old was missing. Working with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Gatlinburg Police Department, they tracked Grant and Loving across state lines.

The pair, whose relationship authorities have not disclosed, were arrested at a hotel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, shortly before 6 a.m. Friday. Both Buncombe County residents are held in Tennessee pending an extradition hearing on Monday.

No motive has been released as of Friday afternoon. Authorities said there is no ongoing threat to the public.