Shawn Ryan Grell, the Arizona man serving a life sentence for the horrific murder of his 2-year-old daughter, has died in prison, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Grell, 50, reportedly died on April 19, though the cause of death remains unknown pending investigation, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.
“All inmate deaths are subject to investigation,” the department stated, noting that a full review is ongoing. Grell was convicted in the 1999 killing of his young daughter, Kristen Salem, in a crime that shocked the state with its brutality. On December 2, 1999, Grell picked his daughter up from daycare, took her to McDonald’s for dinner, and then drove her into the desert near Mesa.
There, he pulled off the road, doused her with gasoline while she slept, and set her on fire. Authorities said the toddler briefly woke, screaming, “No, Daddy, no,” as he carried out the act. Prosecutors revealed she crawled nearly 10 feet while engulfed in flames before succumbing to her injuries.
Her charred body was discovered the following morning. Grell initially attempted to confess during a DUI stop and later called 911. When those efforts failed to result in immediate arrest, he walked into the Arizona State Capitol and confessed directly to police. He was taken into custody and ultimately charged with first-degree murder.
He was sentenced to death and told the court, “I deserve it.” But in 2013, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned the sentence, ruling that Grell had a mental disability that made him ineligible for execution under federal law. Court records revealed he suffered brain damage in childhood, spent time in multiple group homes, and often ran away.
“It appears that Shawn Grell has never had a moment of genuine happiness in his life,” one mental health evaluator wrote in a court filing. Due to his intellectual disability, prosecutors recommended a new sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The state’s high court acknowledged the heinous nature of the crime, calling the killing “horrific” and a source of enduring pain for Kristen Salem’s family. Grell remained incarcerated until his death last month. His passing closes the final chapter in a case that remains one of Arizona’s most disturbing crimes in recent memory.