The Murder of Kim Medlin
For this case I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 12 episode 22, titled ‘Traffic Violations.’
Background
Kim Medlin was just 26 years old at the time she was killed. She was married to a man named Bridger, and she worked as a waitress at a men’s club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kim enjoyed her job. The money was good, and she knew how to handle herself and unwanted attention. She would often get off work in the early morning hours, and always called her husband when she was leaving work.
Kim Medlin
Kim and her husband Bridger
A Scary Situation
A few weeks before she died, Kim was driving home from work, and an angry driver happened to be behind her. The driver was honking their horn and following closely behind.
Kim went to the police for help. Kim was very frantic and scared. The police eventually calmed her down, but they reported the incident to several other officers on duty. They said Kim would often drive home alone, and to keep an eye out for her red Jeep.
As we will soon learn, this information was heard by the wrong person, leading to an obsession with Kim.
The Murder
Just two weeks after the road rage incident, Kim’s red Jeep was found abandoned on March 29, 1997. The engine was running, and the lights were on. Kim’s purse and wallet were still in the car, but her driver’s license was missing.
The next day, Kim’s body was found about a mile and a half from where her car was found. She was found underneath some debris. It wasn’t a robbery, Kim still had her wedding ring and some jewelry on.
Kim’s autopsy showed that she had been beaten, stomped and strangled. Her hyoid bone was fracture, and had a fractured cervical spine. Her official cause of death was strangulation and fractured cervical spine. There was no sign of sexual assault.
There was proof that Kim’s hands had been bound with something however, the ligatures were gone.
Her Last Moments
The police needed to determine Kim’s final moments to find out what happened to her.
Kim left the men’s club around 2am, and called her husband at 2:15am. Bridger said he fell asleep right after he spoke to Kim.
During the investigation, a Monroe police officer said he had seen Bridger’s truck driving around during the time of Kim’s abduction and death. This was eventually ruled out, Bridger had only left his house around 4:20am, when he was alerted about Kim’s car being abandoned.
Bridger said Kim would have never pulled over for anyone, except maybe for an authority figure. People in the area started to believe Kim could’ve been killed by an officer or a blue light bandit (someone pretending to be an officer). This would explain why Kim’s license was missing and her window being rolled down.
The Evidence
A witness came forward, and said he had been driving behind Kim on the night of the murder. He said Kim was in fact pulled over by a Monroe police officer. He picked the car out of a lineup.
Kim’s clothing was looked at by Ricky Navarro, a latent print analyst. He discovered that there was a shoe print on her sweatshirt. The shoe print came from a Thurgood Company shoe. This company had about 17 different uniform style shoes. The shoe had a ‘V’ shaped pattern, and were often worn by police officers.
The shoe was either a size 8, 8 1/2 or 9. There were three Monroe officers that wore this size shoe. Two officers were ruled out, they had both been on duty during the time of the murder, and were in constant contact with headquarters.
The only officer that was off duty during the time of the murder was a 24 year old (some reports say 23) named Josh Griffin. He had been on the force for about a year.
Circumstantial Evidence
Josh’s patrol car was searched, and it was described as unusually clean. Josh’s former police chief Bobby Haulk, said that Josh was known for having a very messy car.
The police also searched Josh’s home with a warrant. His work shoes were nowhere to be found, and he said he had thrown them away because they were damaged.
The police questioned co-workers of Kim’s, and asked if they remembered seeing Josh there. They said no.
Josh’s phone would eventually put him near the crime scene on the night of the murder. He made a call at 2am to a tow trucking company. He was confronted by his superiors about this. Josh said he got off work at 10pm, and drove to a restaurant parking lot. He said he was looking at his log book, when a man approached him. The man asked him to call a tow truck because his car broke down. This was about 30-45 minutes before Kim drove by.
Josh denied killing Kim. It was discovered that Josh had been on duty on the night when the broadcast about Kim being afraid of the road rage driver was put out. He took an inappropriate interest in Kim, and decided to act on it.
Several other women eventually came forward, and said Josh had harassed them too. Josh Griffin was charged with Kim’s murder.
Trial and Conviction
Josh’s trial began in February 1998. The prosecution believed that Josh had seen Kim drive by on the night of the murder. He pulled her over, and asked her to sit in his car with him while he ran her license. They believe Josh made a sexual advance, but panicked when she denied him.
Josh then handcuffed Kim, and drove her to where she was eventually found. Kim’s injuries were consistent with her jumping out of the car while it was moving. Josh then stomped on her, breaking her neck, and strangled her with his flashlight. He then took off the handcuffs, and tried to cover her body with debris.
The case was all circumstantial. Ricky Navarro took a shoe impression of the shoes that Josh had been wearing that night. He compared it to the print found on Kim’s sweatshirt. He said he believes no other shoe could’ve made that print.
Josh Griffin was found guilty of first degree murder and first degree kidnapping. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Three years later, he finally confessed to the murder. He admitted to stomping on Kim, and strangling her with his flashlight. He then broke the flashlight into pieces and flushed it. He also tossed his shoes in a dumpster.
Josh Griffin
Griffin in a more recent photo
FINAL THOUGHTS
THIS POOR WOMAN. She was so terrified about a road rage driver, and thought that she would be protected by going to the police. However, the police didn't know that they had an evil person on their force. He became infatuated with Kim, and decided to kill her. It’s believed that he killed Kim after she rejected his advances, but still he wasn’t even supposed to be on duty after 10pm. Kim never had a chance to make it home to her husband that night.
Sources
https://www.starnewsonline.com/article/NC/20050722/news/605063955/WM
https://find-it.co.za/2021/06/21/kim-medlin-murder-blonde-beauty-murdered-by-obsessed-cop/
https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/123973/
