Son of murdered South Carolina woman to attend execution

Irene Grainger Graves was 41 when she was murdered in a robbery on Halloween night in 1997. Today, her son, Arte, remembers her as a loving and fun-loving mother who worked three jobs to raise her children.

Like any good mother, Irene Grainger Graves wanted to make sure her three children had a good life. She wanted it so badly that she worked three jobs to not only put food on the table, but also to treat herself to the occasional treat, to make sure the kids were having fun and making memories.

Graves was working one such job at a convenience store on a fateful Halloween night in 1997 when two gunmen walked in and demanded to open the safe. When the 41-year-old woman said she didn’t know the combination, they shot her in the head.

That left her three children motherless and helpless.

Freddie Eugene Owens was sentenced to death for the woman’s murder and is set to be executed by lethal injection on Friday in South Carolina, the first execution in the state in 13 years and the 14th in the country this year. Owens has always maintained his innocence and on Wednesday, the man who gave key testimony against him said he was lying at the time and that Owens was never at the crime scene.

USA TODAY recently spoke with Graves’ oldest son, Arte Graves, before Owens’ execution to talk about who his mother was and how much her sons lost that terrible night.

“I miss her every day,” he said.

The night that changed everything

Owens and his co-defendant, Steven Golden, were convicted in Graves’ death, which occurred during a robbery at the convenience store where she worked in Greenville, South Carolina, according to court documents.

Surveillance footage captured the shooting, but it was not clear and authorities could not determine who fired the gun. Owens maintained he was at home, in bed, at the time of the robbery.

Golden signed an affidavit Wednesday saying Owens did not shoot Graves and was not even there during the robbery, the Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.

Golden said detectives at the time told him to say Owens was with him during the robbery. Stating he was afraid he would be sentenced to death, Golden agreed and in a statement to police said he “substituted Freddie for the person who was actually with me at the Speedway that night.”

“I did it because I knew that’s what the police wanted me to say and also because I thought the real shooter or his accomplices might kill me if I reported him to the police,” Golden said. “I’m still afraid of that. But Freddie wasn’t actually there.”

Golden reached a deal with prosecutors to testify against Owens and avoid the death penalty. His murder charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter and he was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

As for Owens, he said his conviction led him to kill his cellmate while awaiting sentencing, telling officials: “I really did it because I was wrongly convicted of murder.”

Irene Graves was “a working mother”

Arte Graves, who was 18 when her mother was killed and is now 45, said she remembers how hard-working but also fun she was.

He worked at Speedway convenience store, Kmart and a supermarket called Bi-Lo.

“She always reminded us to take care of each other and that we were a family and we had to take care of each other,” he said. “She wasn’t a pushover, she was a good woman, a fun woman… We always had fun. I was into wrestling when I was a kid, so she would take me to wrestling shows when they were at the old auditorium.”

She said her mother was also strong, determined, loving and caring.

Arte Graves said he had moved to Delaware to attend college when his mother was killed and immediately moved back to South Carolina to be with his younger brothers, who were just 10 and 11 years old. He still lives in the state and owns a small trucking company.

As the years have passed, she said she has come to accept her mother’s death, but she has some advice, something she learned after losing her mother.

“If your parents are still alive, make sure you value the time you spend with them,” she said. “Try to create as many memories as you can with them while you are lucky enough to have them in your life.”

Arte Graves will attend his execution: “You have to see him go”

It’s been almost 30 years since Irene Graves was murdered.

Owens is scheduled to be executed Friday after years of appeals and attempts to reduce his sentence. The sentencing also appears to be going ahead despite Golden’s new plea, as the South Carolina Supreme Court said Thursday that the plea does not trump confessions he is said to have made to a girlfriend, his mother and two police officers.

USA TODAY was working to speak with Owens’ attorneys about the development.

Art Graves said he will be among the witnesses to Owens’ execution if it is carried out. He’s not sure if any other members of his family will attend, but he will be there, he said, to help get some sense of closure and move on.

“Honestly, I have to see him go,” he said. “I have to see him go.”

USA TODAY interviewed Arte Graves before Golden issued a statement swearing that Owens is innocent. USA TODAY is working to get Graves’ response on the matter.

Contributor: Terry Benjamin II

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a current affairs reporter for USA TODAY. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

Breaking

Son of murdered South Carolina woman to attend execution

ByS. Jacob

Irene Grainger Graves was 41 when she was murdered in a robbery on Halloween night in 1997. Today, her son, Arte, remembers her as a loving and fun-loving mother who worked three jobs to raise her children.

The night that changed everything

Irene Graves was “a working mother”

Arte Graves will attend his execution: “You have to see him go”

By S. Jacob

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