Police found a missing teen and an adult man after three relatives were discovered dead in Fairview.
GATLINBURG, Tenn. — A murder investigation that started with three bodies inside a North Carolina home led police to a Gatlinburg motel, where a missing 16-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man were arrested.
The arrests tied a tourist town in East Tennessee to a triple homicide in Fairview, North Carolina. Authorities said Star Grant and Devan Oneal Loving were found at a Motel 6 on Ownby Street on May 8, one day after Buncombe County deputies discovered three members of Grant’s family dead during a welfare check.
The victims were Travis Eugene Grant, 41; Kimberly Michelle Grant, 42; and Sharon Harwood Grant, 66. Officials said Travis and Kimberly Grant were married, and Sharon Grant was Travis Grant’s mother. Deputies said the deaths were being investigated as homicides after the bodies were found inside the Ashworth Drive home.
Investigators said Grant, who lived at the home, was initially missing and unaccounted for. They later determined she was in Tennessee with Loving. A vehicle tied to the case was found outside the Gatlinburg motel early May 8, giving officers a location to search as North Carolina detectives traveled toward Tennessee.
Gatlinburg Police Chief Ronnie Barrett said officers coordinated with North Carolina authorities before entering the motel room. “We were in contact with authorities in North Carolina to get their information on what we were getting involved in,” Barrett said. He said officers forced open the locked door and found the pair inside.
Police said Grant and Loving were taken into custody without incident. Authorities later announced that both were charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Grant is being prosecuted as an adult. Loving also was charged with abduction of a child after his return to Buncombe County.
Court proceedings later added new details to the case. Prosecutors said all three victims had been shot and stabbed. They also said Grant and Loving took wallets from the victims before leaving North Carolina. Prosecutors said both defendants gave statements indicating culpability, though the full contents of those statements have not been made public.
The case crossed state lines quickly. Gatlinburg police, Tennessee investigators, Buncombe County deputies and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation all played roles in the early response. Authorities said the suspects were expected to be extradited after their arrests in Tennessee.
Grant appeared in Buncombe County court May 14, where a judge ordered her held without bond. The public defender’s office appointed attorney Doug Edwards, a former Buncombe County chief assistant district attorney, to represent her. An attorney standing in for Edwards appeared during the brief first hearing.
Loving was extradited to Buncombe County on May 14 and booked into the county detention facility without bond. During a Tennessee court appearance before his return, he said he figured he should go back to North Carolina.
Authorities have not released a complete motive, and the case remains active. The next steps include further court hearings, evidence review and formal legal responses from the defense.
Author note: Last updated May 24, 2026.