MUNCIE, Ind. — A Delaware County man could face up to 50 years in prison after being convicted in the shooting death of his 5-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors say the jury deliberated for almost eight hours before finding 32-year-old Jacob Grayson guilty of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and three counts of neglect of a dependent.
The conviction stems from Grayson’s July 2022 arrest.
News 8 previously reported that Muncie Police Department officers arrived at Grayson’s home in the afternoon of July 26 to investigate a shooting.
Grayson had told police that his 6-year-old son had accessed his firearm in the gun safe and accidentally shot and killed his 5-year-old sister. Grayson also told police his son had gotten into the safe before and moved it, but not out of the boy’s reach.
He also told police that the key to the safe may have been left in the keyhole. Jacob said there were two firearms inside the safe, and that he’s taken his son to a shooting range in the past to show him how to use a gun.
Police say the living conditions were “deplorable.” According to court documents acquired by News 8, there was food, animal feces, and trash around the house.
Police say the children’s beds were stained mattresses on the floor with no sheets or blankets on them.
Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said after Grayson’s conviction that the case “made him want to puke.”
“The facts of this case and the utter disregard for the safety of these young children make me want to puke. This 5-year-old child should have never had access to a firearm,” Hoffman said. “Every parent has an absolute affirmative duty to protect their own child. Jacob Grayson and his wife Kimberly miserably failed at this very basic parental duty.”
Grayson’s sentencing date has not been set. In total, Grayson could face up to nearly 50 years in prison.
Grayson’s wife, Kimberly Grayson, was also charged in their daughter’s death, but she was deemed incompetent to stand trial in June 2026.
