A Florida case that began more than five years ago has reached a major turning point.
On Thursday, October 1, an Orange County jury found 26-year-old Doujon Griffiths guilty on all counts connected to the 2021 incident involving 20-year-old Massania Malcolm, her 1-year-old daughter Jordania Reid, and Malcolm’s boyfriend, Jordane Reid.
The verdict came after a trial in Orlando that placed the final hours of the young mother and her daughter at the center of the courtroom.
Griffiths was convicted of first-degree murder with a firearm, first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and multiple counts related to the reported shooting. His sentencing is scheduled for November 16 at 10:30 a.m.
The case dates back to September 7, 2021.
At the time, Griffiths had been staying with Massania Malcolm and her boyfriend, Jordane Reid. According to investigators and testimony presented during the trial, the couple had allowed Griffiths to stay with them after he was experiencing homelessness.
But prosecutors said the arrangement eventually became difficult.
The couple reportedly wanted Griffiths to leave because they believed he was not contributing to the household expenses. On the morning of September 7, they agreed to drive him to a bus stop.
According to prosecutors, that trip never reached its destination.
Instead, investigators said a confrontation began near the couple’s apartment complex, where Griffiths allegedly pulled a firearm and opened fire.
Jordane Reid was struck multiple times but managed to escape the area.
During the trial, Reid described the moment to jurors.
He testified that he was trying to get away while shots were being fired and that Griffiths had pointed the firearm toward him during the confrontation.
“I was in panic. I was getting shot at the same time. I was just trying to escape, that’s it,” Reid told the court, according to WFTV.
Reid survived the attack and eventually became one of the key witnesses for prosecutors.
After he escaped, Griffiths allegedly drove away in the vehicle with Massania and her young daughter still inside.
The vehicle was later abandoned.
For two days, investigators worked to locate the car and determine what had happened to the people inside.
One of the key developments came when Jordane Reid, who was receiving medical treatment and was unable to speak normally, wrote Massania’s name on a piece of paper.
That information helped investigators connect the case to Massania and led them toward the couple’s apartment and eventually the vehicle.
Police ultimately located the abandoned car in an outdoor parking area on Lake Ellenor Drive.
Inside were Massania and her daughter Jordania.
The child had remained inside the vehicle during the period when the car was abandoned.
During the trial, investigators explained how extreme the conditions inside the vehicle became.
A crime scene investigator testified that temperature readings inside the vehicle reached more than 100 degrees, with one probe recording approximately 122 degrees. The air conditioning was not operating when investigators examined the vehicle.
That evidence became an important part of the prosecution’s presentation to the jury.
The case also involved a lengthy search for Griffiths.
After the incident, he remained out of custody for more than two years.
He was eventually located during a routine traffic stop in New Jersey on March 26, 2024, according to reports. He was later extradited to Florida to face the charges.
By the time the trial began in September 2026, more than five years had passed since the original incident.
The courtroom proceedings brought several of those earlier events back into focus.
Jordane Reid took the witness stand and described what he remembered from the confrontation.
Investigators also presented evidence concerning the abandoned vehicle, the shooting and the circumstances surrounding Massania and Jordania being found.
Jurors were shown photographs from the scene, although the judge placed limits on how certain images could be presented during the proceedings.
Prosecutors argued that the evidence established Griffiths’ responsibility for the attacks.
The defense had the opportunity to challenge the prosecution’s case, but after deliberating for roughly 20 minutes, the jury returned guilty verdicts on the charges.
That decision now moves the case into its sentencing phase.
Griffiths is scheduled to return to court on November 16, when a judge is expected to determine his sentence. Prosecutors have indicated that they are not seeking the death penalty in the case.
For Massania’s family, the verdict closes one major chapter in a case that has remained unresolved for years.
Massania was only 20 when the events occurred, while her daughter Jordania was just 1 year old.
Family members have continued to remember them while waiting for the court process to reach this point.
Latoya Reid, Massania’s mother and Jordania’s grandmother, spoke about the relationship her daughter had with Griffiths before the incident.
According to comments reported during the trial, the family had tried to help Griffiths when he was struggling, allowing him to stay with them.
That history became an important part of the prosecution’s account because Griffiths was not described as a complete stranger to the family.
He had known Jordane Reid since childhood.
The relationship between the families, prosecutors argued, made the events of September 7, 2021 even more difficult to understand.
Now, more than five years later, the jury has reached its decision.
Griffiths has been found guilty of the charges brought against him, but the case is not completely finished.
The next major date is November 16, when the court is scheduled to move forward with sentencing.
Until then, Massania and Jordania’s families are left with the verdict and the memories of two lives that were cut short.
For Jordane Reid, who survived the shooting and later testified in court, the proceedings also brought him back to an experience he had spent years trying to move beyond.
His testimony gave jurors a firsthand account of what prosecutors said happened that morning.
And for investigators, the case that began with an abandoned vehicle in 2021 has now resulted in a conviction.
The final chapter will come when Griffiths returns to an Orange County courtroom in November for sentencing.