A 16-year-old girl accused in the deaths of three family members is back in western North Carolina, where she is now facing first-degree murder charges as an adult in a case that has stunned the Fairview community and raised painful questions about what happened inside a home on Ashworth Drive.
WLOS News 13 reporter Kimberly King reported that Star Grant returned to Asheville on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, after waiving extradition in Tennessee, where she and 28-year-old Devan Loving were taken into custody days earlier.
According to King, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office said Grant arrived back in Asheville at about 12:25 p.m. and is now being held without bond while the criminal case moves forward.
Grant is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her mother, Kim Grant, Travis Grant and Travis Grant’s mother, Sharon Grant. She also faces a felony conspiracy charge tied to the same alleged killings.
Returned To Asheville After Tennessee Arrest
King reported that Grant had been held in Sevier County, Tennessee, before being transported back to Buncombe County by deputies.
The teenager and Loving were found and arrested on May 8 at a Motel 6 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, one day after the bodies were discovered during a welfare check at 18 Ashworth Drive in Fairview.
According to King’s report, Buncombe County does not have a juvenile detention facility, so Grant will be housed outside the county at a juvenile facility in Alexander County.
That detail adds another layer to an already unusual case: although Grant is only 16, the charges are being handled in adult court, while her housing situation still involves the juvenile detention system because of her age.
A magistrate officially charged Grant with three felony counts of first-degree murder and one felony count of conspiracy to commit murder after she was brought back to North Carolina, King reported.
The case is still in its early stages, but the severity of the charges means Grant’s legal future is already extremely serious.
Warrants Allege Planning Before The Killings
According to the warrants cited by King, authorities allege that the offenses happened on May 1, though the bodies were not found until the evening of May 7 during the welfare check.
That timeline is one of the most disturbing parts of the case, because court documents suggest the victims may have been dead for several days before anyone found them.
The arrest warrants claim Grant “unlawfully, willfully and feloniously did of malice aforethought kill and murder” Travis, Kim and Sharon Grant.
On the conspiracy charge, King reported that the warrants accuse Grant of conspiring with Devan Oneal Loving to commit first-degree murder against the three victims by “planning and conspiring among each other before carrying out the murder.”
Those are allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Still, the language of the warrants is direct and severe, placing the case among the most serious criminal matters Buncombe County authorities could bring.
King reported that Loving remained listed as an inmate at the Sevier County Detention Center as of Wednesday afternoon, with Buncombe County authorities expecting him to be extradited to western North Carolina later in the week.
A Defense Attorney Weighs In On What Could Come Next
In her WLOS report from outside the courthouse, King spoke with Paul Bidwell, a defense attorney, about what could happen next in the case, given Grant’s age and the adult charges she now faces.
Bidwell said that because of the nature of the allegations and because Grant is 16, prosecutors are “almost certainly likely” to keep her in the adult system for at least an initial period of time while more information comes out about what her alleged role was.
That point is important because cases involving juveniles accused of adult-level crimes often turn on both legal procedure and the specific facts investigators believe they can prove.
At this stage, based on King’s reporting, the public knows the charges, the victims’ names, the arrest location and the basic timeline. What remains less clear is the alleged motive, the exact sequence of events and what evidence investigators say ties each defendant to the killings.
Those missing pieces matter, and they are likely to become central if the case proceeds through probable cause hearings, grand jury action or future trial preparation.
A Community Shocked By The Allegations
King also reported that someone familiar with Grant’s part-time work as a checkout clerk at a grocery store in Fairview last fall described a very different picture of the teenager than the one now found in court documents.
According to King, that person said staff would see Grant outside during breaks talking with Loving, who is also charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
The same person described Grant as an outgoing, hardworking and bubbly teen, and said staff members were shocked by the allegations now surrounding her and Loving.
That kind of detail does not explain what happened, and it should not be treated as evidence one way or another. But it does show how deeply the case has unsettled people who thought they had some sense of who Grant was before the arrests.
In many violent cases, especially those involving family members, communities are left trying to reconcile ordinary memories with extraordinary accusations. That appears to be happening here, where the victims, the young suspect and the alleged co-defendant were all connected to a local story that suddenly became far larger and far darker.
Three Victims Found During A Welfare Check
The bodies of Kim Grant, Travis Grant and Sharon Grant were discovered on May 7 during a welfare check at the Fairview home, King reported.
Authorities have not laid out all of the details publicly, but the fact that the check led to the discovery of three homicide victims immediately turned the investigation into a major criminal case.
The warrants filed in Buncombe County court accuse Grant of first-degree murder in each death, while also alleging that she and Loving conspired together before the killings.
For the families and the wider community, the names at the center of the case are not just entries in a court file. They were three people found dead in a home, and the legal process now has to address not only who is responsible, but how such a violent event could have unfolded.
There is also the difficult reality that one of the accused is a teenager related to the victims. That fact will likely keep the case in the public eye, not because it changes the seriousness of the allegations, but because it makes the circumstances even harder for many people to process.
Loving Expected To Return Later
While Grant is now back in North Carolina, King reported that Loving was still in custody in Tennessee as of Wednesday afternoon.
Buncombe County authorities anticipate that Loving will also be extradited to western North Carolina, where he is expected to face the same murder charges connected to the deaths of Kim, Travis and Sharon Grant.
Once Loving is returned, the case may begin to move on parallel tracks for both defendants, though their attorneys could take very different approaches depending on the evidence, the alleged statements, and how prosecutors present the conspiracy charge.
For now, Grant remains held without bond, and King reported that one of her next steps will be receiving a defense attorney.
This case is likely to move slowly from here, as first-degree murder prosecutions require careful handling, especially when one defendant is a minor charged as an adult. The early court filings are stark, but they are only the beginning of a process that will have to sort through evidence, timelines, mental state, alleged planning and individual responsibility.
What is already clear from Kimberly King’s reporting is that a 16-year-old accused of killing three family members is now back in North Carolina, and the criminal case that follows will be one of the most closely watched and emotionally difficult proceedings in the region.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
