MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have revealed grisly new details about the killing of a Miramar High School senior at his apartment complex that led them to arrest three teens who, they said, had planned the crime over the course of a week.
Seventeen-year-old Andre Clements, 17-year-old Christie Parisienne and 16-year-old Jaslyn Smith face felony charges of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy and tampering with evidence in connection to the killing of 18-year-old Dwight Grant.
7News cameras captured police taking Clements into the Broward Juvenile Assessment Center on Sunday. He is accused of killing Grant with a sword.
Monday afternoon, divers were seen searching for evidence in a lake behind the Sherman Circle apartment complex.
“It’s horrifying, and he was such a good child. His mother loved him,” said a woman who lives across the hall from the victim’s apartment. “I can’t even think something could happen like that. It’s terrifying.”
A friend of the victim’s family spoke with 7News, Monday night.
“Never had a problem with him, whether he stayed in the house, stayed out of trouble,” he said.
But detectives said the suspects had enough of a grievance with the 18-year-old to want him dead.
According to the arrest report, Clements was upset with Grant because the victim had allegedly had sex with a former girlfriend of his, so he and the other two suspects conspired a plan to murder him.
A surveillance image captured the suspects, dressed all in black, as they entered the apartment building where the victim lived, Oct. 17.
The arrest report includes text messages between the suspects that, detectives said, show them asking each other when the crime was going to be committed.
In a message that Clements sent Parisienne, Clemens wrote, “Murder will definitely happen soon.”
Parisienne replied, “I would help you, but you becoming a murderer right now isn’t what is needed.”
Clements went on to write, “It’s happening by hoco,” meaning homecoming.
Parisienne replied, “Oh — see, that I can help with.”
“This Sunday or next? You choose,” responded Clements.
Parisienne replied, “This Sunday I have to go to my aunt’s birthday party — unless you’re impatient and I give my mother an excuse to not go.”
Parisienne’s attorney, Peter Butlien, spoke with 7News on Sunday.
“The state, I’m sure, is doing more investigation, and they’re going to have to make a very serious decision as to whether or not 17-year-olds are going to be charged as adults,” he said.
According to the arrest report, Clements and Parisienne recruited Smith, a friend of theirs who also lives nearby.
Police said the suspects arrived at Sherman Circle at 6:57 p.m.
Police said Parisienne called Grant on his cellphone to lure him into the stairwell, and once the victim came out of his unit, the suspects ambushed him and beat him for 31 minutes.
A surveillance image showed Parisienne acting as a lookout. Police said she told the other suspects to stop making noise.
Investigators said Grant screamed and pleaded for his life.
The arrest report said Clements told the victim, “You know I have to kill you now,” grabbed the sword and stabbed him in the neck.
The arrest report said Grant begged the assailants to “end it.”
That was when, the report states, Clements “stabbed the victim in the chest” with the sword.
Police said Grant bled out, and the trio carried the victim’s body and dumped it over a railing and into some bushes about 30 feet from his apartment.
Police said the suspects brought cleaning supplies with them so they could remove blood from the scene. They also attempted to burn their clothes and dumped everything into the lake.
Officers found Grant’s body on Tuesday. The arrest report states his legs were pinned toward his back.
A 7News crew knocked on the door of Smith’s apartment, Monday afternoon. Her mother declined to comment.
The teens are being held in juvenile detention for the next three weeks. Their next court appearance has been set for Nov. 4.
As of Monday night, it remains unclear whether or not they will be charged as adults. That decision will be up to the Broward State Attorney’s Office.
A GoFundMe has been established to help Grant’s mother pay for his funeral expenses. If you would like to donate, click here.
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