BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD (WBFF) — Newly obtained charging documents outline how investigators linked 16-year-old Keith Maurice James Jr., to the murders of Giovanna ‘Gigi’ Myrie, 15, and her 9-year-old brother, Steve Allen.
Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough announced James’ arrest prior to a public safety hearing Wednesday evening.
Giovanna and her brother were found fatally shot in their home in Gwyn Oak on July 7.
According to newly obtained charging documents, their mother discovered their bodies after returning home around 7:20 pm.
Investigators wrote Gigi was found lying in bed within a bedroom of the home while Steve was found lying in between the hallway and a bedroom.
Both victims had been shot multiple times and were pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said.
According to the court documents, investigators linked James Jr. to the murders using witness statements, surveillance footage, ballistic evidence, cell phone data and James’ statement to investigators.
It’s believed Gigi and James Jr. were in a relationship and had been talking for the past couple of months.
According to the statements of charges, investigators first interviewed a close friend of Giovanna, who advised she had recently started talking to a male subject known as Keith.
The witness told investigators they had seen and talked with James several times through three-way FaceTime, but had never met in person.
One of those FaceTime calls occurred at Giovanna’s residence on July 4. The witness advised they saw James was holding a handgun while in bed with Giovanna.
The witness went on to tell investigators that James told Giovanna he would have to kill her if she messed around with any other guys.
According to court documents, investigators searched Giovanna’s cell phone records and found a text message that supported the witness statement.
That witness also told investigators they spoke with Giovanna approximately two hours before the murders and she advised Keith was supposed to come over to her residence at 4 p.m.
According to court documents, another witness who lives near the victims reported they were smoking a cigarette on their driveway when they heard something strike another neighbor’s home.
Investigators later determined it to have been a projectile that had struck the front door of the home.
Surveillance footage captured the timestamp the neighbor is seen looking towards the house at approximately 5:08 pm.
This was the time investigators believe the murders took place.
According to court documents, investigators obtained a photo of James through MVA records and searched cell phone data for the phone number provided by a witness for James.
Investigators wrote the records indicated the cell number associated with James came into the area of the crime scene at approximately 4:22 pm.
Furthermore, investigators wrote they obtained surveillance footage from the MTA which captured James getting dropped off at 4:14 pm at Liberty and Tulsa Road.
That bus stop is approximately a half a mile from the crime scene.
According to court documents, investigators obtained additional video surveillance from the neighborhood showing James walking closer to Giovanna’s home on Talles Road, at 4:16 pm.
At the time investigators noted James was wearing a black t-shirt, black shorts and black and white shoes, as well as a backpack and light blue headphones.
Cell phone records then show James then called Giovanna’s cell phone at 4:19 pm.
About an hour later, investigators wrote more area surveillance captured James walk down the steep dirt hill of a residence on Crismer Court before running across Flannery Lane.
Investigators noted James was now wearing a long sleeve black jacket with its hood up and a black face covering that he continued to wear as he walked into Baltimore City and boarded another MTA bus, at North Rogers Avenue and Northern Parkway, at approximately 5:45 pm.
According to court documents, investigators interviewed James on July 21, where he stated he and Giovanna had been talking for about two months and that he had not met up with her in person since July 4.
James was arrested and charged with the murder of Giovanna and Steve on July 22.
Records show he is from Baltimore City.
The 16-year-old James is scheduled for a bond hearing July 23.
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