A Dowagiac resident who murdered her boyfriend and stuffed him into the trash was sentenced to prison today.
Deidra Tomlin was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years, with a maximum of 50 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections by a Cass County jury for the second degree murder of Bryce Grove in January of 2021.
Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz asked the Court to focus on the actions of the defendant before, during and after the slaying, according to a release from Cass County. Fitz noted the Defendant, a Latin Queen affiliate, had previous charges in Georgia and Kentucky for assault as well as a pending 2019 criminal case in Mishawaka, Indiana for shooting a firearm into a building.
The defendant was on release status on that case at the time she committed the murder of Bryce Grove, having posted a $1,445 bond in the Indiana shooting case.
Fitz also noted that the defendant constantly carried a gun and on the date of the murder, after a verbal dispute in her apartment with her boyfriend and victim Bryce Grove, pointed a 9 mm handgun at his face and pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged in the victim’s brain.
The Cass County Prosecutor indicated that after the shooting Tomlin did not call for an ambulance or for 911 assistance. Instead, she left him there to die and proceeded to a local casino, Walmart and other locales, eventually intimidating others into efforts to dispose of the body over a two-day period.
“Her post-shooting cover-up actions included disposing of the gun and hauling a curbside trash container into her living quarters where she stuffed the body into the plastic implement,” said the report from Fitz. “The body remained in the container for approximately days until Dowagiac Police Officers, acting on a tip, secured a search warrant and found the body where the Defendant had deposited it.”
Fitz also noted that when eventually confronted by police, the Defendant denied committing the murder for an extended period of time until eventually acknowledging that she had pulled the trigger and killed Grove.
Family members of Grove attended the sentencing. A statement from the deceased’s sister Rebecca Carpenter was read to the Judge, indicating how, despite challenges in his personal life, her 43 year old brother deeply loved his two children ages 4 and 8. She noted that while she had taken over the custody of Mr. Grove’s children, he remained a significant presence, taking great pains to be a routine part of their lives, including never missing a birthday.
Fitz indicated at the conclusion of sentencing that he, and the family, were comfortable with the 20–50-year sentence and that “The Defendant was heartless in her point-blank killing of the victim.”
The Dowagiac Police Department and other assisting agencies were applauded by Fitz for their successful discovery and investigation of the murder.
Cass County Judge Mark Herman accepted and implemented the second-degree murder plea and sentence consistent with the plea agreement in the case.
