Buncombe County deputies said the victims were found inside a Fairview home after a welfare check.
FAIRVIEW, N.C. — A 16-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man have been charged with murder after deputies found three members of the girl’s family dead Thursday evening inside a home in Fairview, Buncombe County authorities said.
Star Grant, 16, and Devan Oneal Loving, 28, each face three counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony conspiracy to commit murder. The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office said Grant is being charged as an adult. The case moved quickly from a welfare check to a homicide investigation that reached across state lines into Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Deputies were called about 7:15 p.m. Thursday, May 7, to 18 Ashworth Drive after relatives and friends reported that they had not heard from people at the home. When deputies entered, they found Travis Eugene Grant, 41, Kimberly Michelle Grant, 42, and Sharon Harwood Grant, 66, dead from gunshot wounds. Major John Ledford of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office said Travis and Kimberly Grant were married and that Sharon Grant was Travis Grant’s mother. “Information we have received, she is the daughter of the couple and the granddaughter of the deceased, older deceased person,” Ledford said of Star Grant.
Investigators said deputies had gone to the home twice earlier in the week, on Monday and Wednesday, for welfare checks. Authorities said they did not have enough evidence at those earlier visits to force entry. By Thursday evening, deputies entered the home and found the three victims. Officials have not said exactly when the shootings happened, but investigators said the victims may have been dead for several days before they were found. The sheriff’s office has not released a motive, and authorities have not described the relationship between Grant and Loving beyond saying they were found together.
After the bodies were found, detectives determined that Star Grant, who lived at the Ashworth Drive home, was missing. Investigators received information that she may have been in Gatlinburg with Loving. A vehicle tied to the missing teen was found early Friday outside a Motel 6 on Ownby Street. Gatlinburg police, assisted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, entered a hotel room later Friday morning and took Grant and Loving into custody without incident. Buncombe County detectives traveled to Tennessee to interview them.
The charges were announced Friday, May 8, after those interviews. Ledford said the first-degree murder counts are Class A felonies in North Carolina. “They’re charged with a Class A felony, that has potential in the state of North Carolina, either the death penalty or life imprisonment,” he said during a news conference. Prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty. Because Grant is 16, officials said she will be prosecuted as an adult in the case.
The investigation includes the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Gatlinburg Police Department. Authorities said the case remains active, but they do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public. Loving and Grant were being held in Tennessee pending extradition proceedings. Officials said both suspects are expected to face an extradition hearing before being returned to Buncombe County.
Neighbors described the Grants as a familiar family on Ashworth Drive. One neighbor told reporters that Star Grant had grown up in the area and was often seen around the neighborhood. Another said the news left residents shaken because they had not seen signs of trouble at the home. Investigators have not said whether any weapon has been recovered, whether anyone else is being sought or what evidence led them to charge the two suspects.
The next major step is the extradition process in Tennessee, expected Monday, May 11. After that, Grant and Loving are expected to be returned to Buncombe County to face the murder and conspiracy charges.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.