Lovingston
Nelson County, Virginia
Updated 2:00 PM EDT 5.20.09
Nelson County Sheriff, David Brooks, tells NCL Wednesday afternoon that Austin Griffin’s case has been continued until June 3rd. “Griffin asked the court for a continuance in the case until then to allow more time to secure his own attorney,” the sheriff tells NCL.
Both Griffin and Meeks are currently jailed without bond.
More updates as we have them.
{Previous post from early morning}
According to Nelson County Sheriff, David Brooks, 20 year old Austin Griffin seen in this photo is scheduled to appear via video conference before a Nelson County judge sometime Wednesday. Griffin is charged along with 18 year-old Christopher Meeks in the May 6, 2009 1st degree murder of Opal Page in Afton, Virginia. Meeks was appointed an attorney by the court last week, while Griffin indicated he would seek private counsel. Sheriff Brooks said as of late Tuesday evening no attorney had contacted the court, so Griffin will most likely appear before a judge Wednesday to have an attorney formerly appointed by the court.
Additional hearings are scheduled in the coming weeks.
You can view all of the previous coverage on this story by clicking here.
What kind of lawyer would defend these guys
It looks like the Griffin man is trying to prolong the inevitable, and using the excuse that he is seeking private counsel so he can have this continued as long as he can. I think the Courts should make him produce proof that he even has an attorney or that he is even seeking one.
He has the right to a speedy trial so lets give it to him and Mr. Meeks.
I agree with you Megan … why keep waiting on the guys … give them a lawyer and lets get the ball rolling … I just couldnt believe someone would defend them … how could you I mean you would have to be almost as heartless as them to defend them
When is Mrs. Pages funeral? I hope I have not missed it. God bless her!
Hey Barb she was buried on Mothers Day. It was just a grave side service. Just so u know it was really nice and it was packed.
this is crap. another fine example of our fine justice system. the court date last week they said they had an attorney but he hadnt contacted the court and now they say they are still trying to get an attorney. so now this scum has gotten two continueances. two more then this peice of crap gave opal. dont give me no crap about innocent until proven guilty either.
I agree with u mike … They shouldn’t get any breaks … They don’t deserve a lawyer
You know what Mike, you should just leave the damn country. You don’t believe in the laws. You care not about human life. I have read ever comment you have made and it makes me sick. In my opinion, you are no better then the guilty party. I would not be surprised if you are a former member of the Klan. You damn right I said it. Only a Neo-Nazi, skin head, moron who has his head so far up his own ass that he can see what he had for lunch today would say that the justice system is crap and these two men should be killed. You are no better! I am glad that the justice system is pissing you off, it will keep your dumb ass at home instead of going out and doing something ignorant. Just sit there and type on your magic box with the detachable type writer. Your thought process is the reason crimes like this happen in the first place. You need to allow the system to work, it does get things wrong. But from what I have observed it has a pretty good track record. Oh by the way Mike, has anyone in you family ever done anything …I don’t know… ILLEGAL? Is that why you are trashing the court system. Now go cut some wood, I am tired of reading about how you want to kill people.
P.S. By the way Mike, threats against peoples lives , thats illegal.
Must be some relation
I agree with some of what Mike was saying. Those two men did not believe in Opal’s life.
I think the boys should suffer for what they did to Opal.
“They deserve the death penalty”, thats what you said. If they are guilty I agree one hundred percent. But I am not going to say they are guilty when I know of none of the evidence that is being presented. Can you tell me one piece of evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that it was these two men?… That is all I am asking for. I would like the system to show the evidence against them. If the evidence proves that they are guilty then load the book into a potato gun and shoot it at them. I am just disgusted that people jump to conclusions. They do not need to defend themselves. they need to be proven guilty. Oh and Barb said God Bless her. If she wasn’t a believer in a western religion then she probably wouldn’t have said that.
Yeah this all terrible & all but nobody knows the whole story except for those two. & They’re people too. & Everyone who is saying you hope they die & everything else how does that make you any better than either one of them. I think everyone should just shut their mouths and til they know the whole truth. They also have families, and friends, & loved ones & people who are affected by this. Other people care about them too. So unless you were actually there, or you know either one of them, keep your hateful comments to yourself, k thanks.
I know both of these guys. One of them I know very personallyand love very much. & all of you are saying they need the death penalty, or they should die, you’re wishing death on someone so that makes you a hypocrite, & no better than them. You’re not the cops, you’re not the investigators, and I’m pretty sure you weren’t there. So you don’t know the facts & you don’t know exactly what happened, nobody does except for those two, all you know is what the news tells you & thats not alot & the freakin rumors you hear. They also have loved ones, family, parents, girlfriends, friends, & other people close to them who are affected by this & are hurting just as bad. So keep your hateful comments to yourself, & if you keep hoping people should die, then maybe you should go and share a damn jail cell right beside them!
They both will have their day in court, whether it is on this earth or in front of God. In my personal opinion, I do not believe in the death penalty. I do not believe we(any human) have the right to take a life, just as it was not the right of the killer to take the innocent life of Opal Page. However heinous this crime was, we live in the USA, the greatest country in the world and both men are entitled to due process. Wouldn’t all of you want the same entitlement if one you, heaven forbid were charged with a crime whether innocent or guilty?
Thank you, Finally someone who understands what I am saying. Thank you!
Oh I understand that we have a justice system, and that everyone is entitled to due process, but while they are deciding on lawyers and whether they should plea guilty or not guilty, they should take these guys back to the crime scene, stand over them with shotguns, and make them clean up the mess they made ! Don’t leave them burden to the family.
So Pathetic, such hate to read from someone who is faceless. Someone from the country? It sounds like you don’t wish for anyone to know who you are?
I think it says COUNTY…not country…and I’m faceless because of my job…and I’m not hating….I’m stating a personal opinion…and did you forget you are the one preaching American rights…freedom of speech falls in there also or did you skip over that part?…..ok so what is so pathetic about that?….Because I don’t feel the same as you?…Well I believe if you take a life, (so brutal and senseless as this crime was)…then you should have to give yours in return. PEACE !
Faceless because of your job? Well if you wanna state your such blod opinions, then maybe you should be so bold & show your face.
Hummm…anonymous is it?….another faceless comment.
Well I have know one of theses men since they were bornand the people i feel sorry for are there families. but you have to realize mrs.page had a family to and yes i have known her all of my life . i don’t think that the men would be in jail if they had no evidence to put them there . but as far as there punishment that is up to the court. but there is one thing I have to say about that good luck finding a jury that will give them a fair trial because that is going to be hard to prove . Mrs. Page’s family are the ones that have lost the most out of all of this and being a neighbor of hers we all lost because of stupidity!!!!
I agree with TLC on the evidence part…there had to be something to steer the Sheriffs office in their direction. They would not just pick these two out of the community simply by their backgrounds.
I can understand if you don’t have a grasp on technology, but if you were to look down you would have seen the location of the “r” key. It is this thing that we like to call a typo. Freedom of speech does fall in there, but your rights can not impede on someone elses. And I don’t really believe someone that will not show their face, has that right. You have chosen security over your rights because you choose to be anonymous. So I feel that if you are scared to speak your mind and you believe the Constitution isn’t strong enough to protect you from all nay sayers @ your job, then Ben Franklin and I have the same opinion about this.
No that’s not it either….your fingers were trying to move faster than your brain could go, and I don’t think I’m the only one here that is anonymous, so honestly, are my views and opinions worth this bickering back and forth? Especially when not everyone agrees with you or me?…Do you not believe in the death penalty? Do you believe that these two guys are sitting in jail on trumped up charges? That there was not some kind of evidence to point to these two? Yes, maybe one is not as guilty as the other meaning, maybe one did not actually do the killing, but either way they were both there. I know that through out the years with our justice system there have been people wrongfully convicted, and I do believe in giving people a fair trial, but what I don’t agree with are these scum bag lawyers who know their clients are guilty as hell and they try to use every excuse under the sun to justify what their client did. Now, what I was asking you a few posts ago, what kinda of excuse are they going to come up with to explain what they did and why?MEANING; to me there is no plausable excuse for this crime. Don’t blame it on the drugs or alcohol because that excuse is getting used to much now days. Hearing “I don’t know why I did it” or “We wanted her car” would be better than hearing “The drugs made me do it” or “I had a bad childhood.” One more thing, you are not showing your face here either, and who knows if your name is really Joe Stevens so why ridicule me? There is an anonymous, TLC and a somebody are those real names?
I want to clear this up I AM NOT Anonymous the TLC are my intials of my name my first name is Tammy and my other 2 names don’t matter. But Mr. Stevens you don’t have to give a name to comment on anything this is another part of the freedom in this country . So what is the big deal about a name ! We all believe in different things so be it that you don’t believe in the death penalty that is your belief but not all share that with you . I am a believer in it so we will never see eye to eye on things but justice WILL BE SERVED one way or another.
It’s anonymous because you don’t need to know my name for personal issues, so thanks.
Scumbag lawyers, uhm maybe you should become a lawyer & find out more than you think you know, because obviously you’re just going by what you think you know. Unless you were there and you seen it shutup about the evidence & this & that. Yes, I feel bad for Mrs. Page’s family & friends, its awful. But some poeple have also lost someone because of this. & if you have a problem with me not giving out my name, or showing my face, it’s because I share a very close relationship with one of these guys & that’s none of your buisiness. Second of all “someone of the county”, I haven’t heard anything about blaming it on drugs or making up excuses. And I’m pretty sure you don’t know these guys, & do not talk about their childhood. You don’t know them at all. This whole situation is messed up, three people have lost their lives, & I’m pretty sure everyone has a billion questions, that will probably never be really answered. But at least it’s not personal to you, so stop with your smart remarks, it looks like you come on here everyday just to see what someone thinks about your comments. Leave it alone, I’m pretty sure it’s not affecting your life, & I don’t understand where you get off on talking about them like you’re a judge or something. I’m pretty sure you’re not & I’m pretty sure you’re not god, so they’ll get their judgement oneday they dont need yours.
Well “Anonymous”…I know you have a close relationship with one of them..and anyone that knows who you are knows which one it is…so will you please quit telling me what I know and don’t know, I know more about you than what you think…but I have to remember this is coming from a teenager in love, and there is nothing wrong with that. I was using your “anonymous” name to make a point, I wasn’t calling you out or anything…and it seems like your here every other day to check the comments also. You said 3 people have lost their lives?…DID MRS. PAGE HAVE A CHOICE???….NO SHE DIDN’T, SHE DID NOT ASK FOR HER LIFE TO BE CUT SHORT! CHRIS AND AUSTIN MADE THAT CHOICE FOR HER ! WAKE UP LITTLE GIRL, THIS IS NOT A DREAM !
we could save the county a lot of money just give me a faulty drop cord and a bucket of water !!!
I agree with “someone from the county” and for anonymous you said that 3 people lost there lives how do you figure that the boys only lost there right to freedom mrs.page lost her right to breathe ! like i said before they would not be in jail if they had no evidence to put them there ! and you said that someone shoudl be a lawyer how do you know that we are not lawyers just because we leave an opinion doesn’t mean that lawyers have opinions to . You act like mrs.page had no body that cared about her or loved her. I think you care about your self a little to much and your right it is awful but they are going to have to face what they did and you need to realize that now! Nobody cares what they did when they we younger all we care about now is what they did on may 6,2009 or have you forgot already maybe it is because you didn’t know mrs. page but that doesn’t matter all I have to say it JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!!!! in what ever means the courts rules . The familys of the boys I am greatly sorry you can only do so much for your child to teach them right from wrong and you pray to god they do it but in some cases that doesn’t happen .
WOW! Observer, I think you rattled a few brains! (Or…Thoughtless brains…) Good for you!
I just wanted to say that I didn’t know Ms. Page personally, but after all of this I feel as if I do. I feel as if she were my own mother. I know a lot of people, adults and children that did know her and they were devastated by her death and it saddened me to see them so hurt. She seemed like such an Angel.
What I do know is this… I have an eleven year old niece that used to be so full of life and full of fire! She attends the Elementary school right above Ms. Page’s house. After the new broke out, and when they had lock down there, and the days and weeks after and even now, our baby is still afraid to walk through her own home alone. I’m willing to bet she isn’t the only child from that school having that problem.
I feel badly for the families of these boys. I cannot imagine what they are going through. I however cannot feel sympathy for the boys if what I am hearing is in fact true, that they do not remember what they did. Of course this is all hearsay…If they don’t remember it tells us that they were either high or drunk out of their minds and that early morn, they made that “choice” to be that way, just like they chose to enter Opal’s house.
You know Observer, I can understand and sympathize with all of these people. I understand we they are spouting off at the mouth. But I for one am not worried about someone coming into my house and attempting to stab me seventeen times. Do not talk to me about freedoms. You take yours for granted. You are choosing security over your freedom. You are the mindless sheep that Marx spoke of. Just scare the people out of their freedoms. Why don’t you wake up, or as you would, say grow a brain. These two men deserve a fair trial and the ability to defend themselves. I am not going to jump to conclusions and say that these two are guilty. Everyone one who is condemning them is judging them on their past. I do not know them and I do not care about how they were raised. You can preach hate if you wish, but I for one feel sympathy for the family’s. And I will no longer try to inform you about how precious your rights and freedoms are. I will just say go to Arlington!
Joe, what if you lived in a nice decent neighborhood, several houses have been broke into, they catch the boy that is doing it, when he has served his time in juvi, he gets out and comes back home(by the way, he lives in your nice decent neighborhoood), well that summer your house gets broke into and robbed…who would be the first person to go through your mind? Please tell the honest truth…you would automatically think of the boy the was doing the first robberies, just because you believe in a fair trial…does not mean that someone’s back ground is not going to come into play.
To everyone who has been writing about me on here, I have not written anything on here, and if I did it wouldn’t have been anonymous. This whole thing is traggic. I, like everyone else would like to know the truth also. So I for one would like to stop being ridiculed on these comments. And also my buisiness does not need to be put out there so Observer mind your own thanks. And I am not trying to be rude, but I do have a life and it does not revolve around this, so I would greatly appreciate it if people kept my name out of their comments. Thank you.
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