The true story behind the Byron Griffy case on The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder on ID

The 2012 killing of Colorado mortician Byron Griffy is at the center of Investigation Discovery’s new three-part docuseries The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder, which explores how a respected funeral director ended up dead in his own farmhouse. The series was aired on ID on November 26 and is also available to stream on HBO Max.

On October 12, 2012, Griffy, a longtime owner of a funeral home in Fowler, Colorado, was discovered with a gunshot wound to the back of his head and no evidence of forced entry. Investigators quickly turned their attention to two other funeral directors, Anthony Wright and the late Charles Giebler, whose financial and personal connections to Byron Griffy made the case into a convoluted mystery involving transferred valuables, hidden relationships, and a crime scene that some officials thought was staged. 

In order to explain what is known, what was decided in court, and what still worries residents of the small Colorado towns involved in the case, the documentary series brings together law enforcement officials, family members, and community voices.

The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder: Who was mortician Byron Griffy?

Byron Paul Griffy was born on October 13, 1935, in Ninaview, Colorado, and trained as a mortician at the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science, graduating in 1958 before working in mortuaries across the state, as per E! News. 

He eventually opened the Griffy Family Funeral Home in Fowler, where he became known for helping local families through their most difficult moments. One of his daughters later said that he took care of everybody, and even bought a farmhouse with land so his grandchildren could grow up in the countryside. 

Byron Griffy lived on that farm with his daughter Linette, her wife Gina, and their children until the end of 2011. The family moved out after reported break-in attempts and the disturbing discovery of a noose hanging in their barn, which increased Griffy’s fear that someone wanted to steal from him, according to E! News. 

He collected old coins, antiques, and paper currency, keeping them in a secret room filled with safes, and worried that his wealth made him a target. In 2012, his public reputation was shaken when he pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. 

The victim was a teenage boy who had worked at his funeral home; Byron Griffy was sentenced to four years of probation and 150 hours of community service, as per E! News.

 The day of the murder and the crime scene

On October 12, 2012, the day before what would have been his 77th birthday, Byron Griffy arranged to meet Anthony Wright and Charles Giebler, co-owners of the Charles-Anthony Funeral Home in nearby Florence, at his former farmhouse outside Fowler, as People reported. 

Wright later said in the docuseries that he and Giebler drove out around noon to take Byron Griffy to lunch, but found the gate locked and could not reach him. Phone records later showed missed calls from Giebler to Griffy shortly after that time. 

When Byron Griffy did not appear for dinner, Linette and Gina went to the farm to check on him. Gina discovered him lying on a bed in an otherwise empty bedroom, dead from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. Investigators noted there were no signs of forced entry, no defensive wounds, and very little blood, which led some to describe the scene as weird, according to E! News. 

Otero County officials observed that Byron Griffy’s hands were carefully crossed on his chest and that he appeared to have been positioned as if lying in a coffin. The bodies-in-repose posture made some investigators suspect the scene had been intentionally staged rather than the result of a spontaneous attack. 

Although robbery was considered, cash was still found on the property, and questions soon shifted from a simple burglary to who had access, who knew about his valuables, and who had reason to visit that isolated farmhouse that day, as per People.

Investigating Anthony Wright and Charles Giebler

From early in the investigation, attention turned to Anthony Wright and Charles Giebler, funeral directors who were close to Byron Griffy both personally and professionally. For years, many people in Florence believed they were half-brothers, but investigators later learned they had also been romantic partners, a detail that surprised parts of their small community. 

Before his death, Byron Griffy had reportedly asked Wright and Giebler to store large amounts of coins, cash, and collectibles in a secure room in their basement. According to court testimony cited in news coverage, Wright said Byron Griffy wanted to protect his assets because he feared lawsuits after the sexual-assault case, as per People. 

Byron Griffy’s family members later told jurors that not all of these valuables were returned, including a safe that allegedly held about $50,000. Investigators learned that on the day of the murder, Wright and Giebler were the only people known to have arranged to meet Byron Griffy at the farm. 

Their statements about timing, phone calls, and movements were examined against phone logs and other evidence, according to People. As detectives dug deeper, they also uncovered financial connections among the three men, including investments and the storage of valuables, which raised questions about potential disputes over money and trust.

In early 2013, before the investigation was complete, Charles Giebler died of coronary artery disease. Local reporting quoted testimony that he had told a family member he expected to be arrested in connection with the case, though he was never charged, as reported by People. 

His death meant that any future legal proceedings would focus on Wright alone, while many questions about Giebler’s role would remain unresolved.

Trials, plea deal, and The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder on ID

Anthony Wright was arrested in August 2013 and charged with first-degree murder in Byron Griffy's death. Wright's case went to trial in 2015, but the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict, and a mistrial was declared, leaving the outcome of his case undecided, People says.

Facing a potential second trial and possible life sentence if convicted, Wright pleaded guilty in January 2017 to being an accessory to first-degree murder, a lesser charge that did not require prosecutors to prove he was the shooter. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation instead of prison time, according to Associated Press reporting carried by Colorado television outlets.

Watch The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder streaming on Investigation Discovery.