Merced man accused of killing baby told police it was an accident. ‘My life is done’
Accused murderer Daevon Jamari Motshwane told Merced detectives he did not mean to shoot and kill 9-month-old Darius King Grigsby on Nov. 9, saying it was a terrible accident.
“Bruh, I didn’t mean to do that,” Motshwane told detectives after his arrest for murder.
Recently filed court documents reveal new details in the investigation of baby Darius’s death, including Motshwane’s emotional confession to detectives and his own family.
The 18-year-old Motshwane is charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. A 17-year-old juvenile was also arrested for allegedly being the driver.
In a 22-page police report, Motshwane initially told detectives he had nothing to do with the baby’s death, nor did he know who was involved.
But detectives told him they had completed numerous interviews and his name came up as a suspect.
Surveillance video from nearby businesses and pings from his phone also put him at the scene.
After several rounds of denying he knew anything about the shooting, Motshwane eventually admitted he was there that day, riding in a burgundy Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by a friend.
There was also a third person in the car, who Motshwane refused to identify.
Motshwane said they were driving near the McDonald’s on West 13th Street at about 12:30 p.m. when he spotted someone who, he said, recently had robbed a friend of his.
Walking along with that man was Monica Ayala and her baby, Darius, who was in a stroller. Police said Motshwane leaned out of the car’s window and fired three shots from a 9mm handgun. He was aiming for the man, but only the baby was hit, according to the report.
A Merced police officer was the first to arrive at the scene of the shooting and found baby Darius laying on his back inside the McDonald’s. He was bleeding heavily from a wound on his side and was not breathing. The officer began CPR as paramedics arrived at the scene.
Baby Darius died shortly before 1 p.m.
Detective Steven Odom asked Motshwane why he was trying to shoot the adult male and he replied that he was trying to get back at him for robbing a friend.
Odom asked whether the shooting was gang-related and Motshwane said it was not.
Later in the interview, he admitted to having a gang past and some lingering bad blood with a rival gang.
During Thursday’s arraignment hearing Motshwane was attacked by a fellow jail inmate, but it’s unclear if it was gang-related.
Motshwane told Odom he was hoping he hadn’t hit the child. And he got scared after finding out the child died.
“At this time, I began to see that Motshwane was visibly beginning to tear up and become emotional,” Odom wrote in his report. “I asked Motshwane to tell me why he was scared and he said ‘Because I know it was wrong.”
Motshwane also spoke on the phone with his mother and grandmother. The conversations were recorded by police and reveal that neither of the women wanted to believe he shot and killed baby Darius.
“Damn you, Daevon, please don’t tell me you did that,” his grandmother said, according to the police report.
Motshwane replied, “I am sorry grandma.”
His mother suspected he was taking the fall for whoever was in the car that day.
“(His mother) said that she did not believe that he intentionally did that considering he has a daughter,” according to the police report. “She said she believed he was with his ‘little gang members’ but not that he did it.”
Motshwane said to his mother, “My life is done. I love you. I’m sorry I lied to you, though.”
The defendant remains in custody at the Merced County jail.
This story was originally published December 2, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
