Nationwide — Shawn Ryan Grell, a man from Arizona who was sentenced to life for killing his 2-year-old daughter by setting her on fire, has died in a Tucson prison. His death is under investigation, though no cause has been released.
Grell, 50, was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1999 death of his daughter. On December 2 that year, he picked her up from daycare, took her to McDonald’s, then drove to a desert area near the city of Mesa. There, he poured gasoline on her and set her on fire.
According to WVLT, the little girl crawled about 10 feet while burning before she died. Her body was found the next morning. Grell later confessed to the crime.
He was initially sentenced to death. But in 2013, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that he had mental retardation, which made him ineligible for execution under federal law. The court described the murder as horrific and said it caused deep pain to the family.
The Arizona Department of Corrections confirmed Grell’s death and said all inmate deaths are subject to investigation.