Indy Grandmother Demands Justice for 14-Year-Old
INDIANAPOLIS — The grandmother of a 14-year-old girl found shot to death in the snow outside a southside Indianapolis apartment complex says she will not stop pushing for justice.
Ramona Griffin said her granddaughter, DeAndra Clay-Staples, was killed in the early morning hours of Jan. 11, 2025, at the Laurelwood Apartments. Griffin said DeAndra had been staying at her home and was believed to be asleep when Griffin returned late the night before.
“When I got home, I assumed that my baby was in her bed because I was never told anything different,” Griffin said. “At that time of night, why wouldn’t I think she was at home?”
Griffin said she woke up around 8 a.m. and began what she described as a routine “body count,” something she said she has done since raising her own children. When she couldn’t find DeAndra, she started searching nearby apartments where the teen had recently been spending time.
“I got dressed to go look for her around 8, 8:30 that morning,” Griffin said. “I was headed to Amber Wood’s apartment because she had been hanging with some children that were older than her.”
Griffin said she later received a call telling her DeAndra had been found dead outside the apartment complex.
“Our baby was found over here,” Griffin said. “Her body was left over there in the snow.”
Griffin said DeAndra had been shot multiple times.
“She had been executed,” Griffin said. “They shot my baby in the back of her head and then stood over her and shot her in her face.”
Griffin said she believes the shooting involved more than one person.
“What I do know is the shooter was not alone,” she said. “He had other people there.”
She also described changes she noticed in DeAndra in the months before her death, saying the teen had started spending time with older teens and pulling away from family.
“Around August, our baby’s personality started changing,” Griffin said. “She went from being a baby, sweet, very respectful. I could just tell my baby was changing.”
Despite that, Griffin said they remained close.
“That’s my daughter’s child, her oldest baby,” she said. “We had a very close relationship. This really, really hurt and questioned our whole family.”
Griffin said she is urging anyone with information to come forward and says she will keep fighting for accountability.
“If you know something, you need to say something,” Griffin said. “I’m not stopping. I’m going to get justice for my baby because she deserves it.”
A community walk in DeAndra Clay-Staples’ memory is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Laurelwood Apartments.
“I will do everything God’s way,” Griffin said. “God will reveal every last one of you that’s involved.”
