GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A table filled with candles stands as a memorial for 47-year-old Roybin Griggs-Johnson.
The mother of nine children, ranging from four-years-old to 31-years-old, was shot and killed at her home near the corner Prince and Eastern on Friday night.
Family members say at least five of her nine children were home at the time of the crime.
FOX 17 spoke with Johnson’s family members as well as a close friend, Linda Matthews, who served as the family’s spokesperson Tuesday.
“Everyone was her family,” said Matthews of Johnson. “Even if you wasn’t blood related, you were like Roybin’s family.”
Late Friday night, Matthews said Johnson heard a knock at her door. Matthews said Johnson opened the porch window to see who was there when she was shot and killed.
Matthews describes her friend as a loving mother who has a strong faith, “Roybin could be sitting in this driveway, she had her bible in her lap.”
Now the family is putting it’s faith in the community.
“The family is having a hard time burying their mother,” said Johnson. “We don’t want them to be stressed out about the children.”
A memorial fund under the name Roybin Griggs is set up at Fifth-Third Bank. The money will help pay for Johnson’s funeral. Donations can be made at any Fifth-Third Bank location.
Grand Rapids police say at this point in the investigation there are no suspects and no motive. Anyone with information is asked call police.
