A man accused of dousing his girlfriend with gasoline and setting her on fire already had two children with his sister, who abandoned him just weeks before.
Ashanti Downey suffered severe burns to 70 percent of her body in the attack near Sanford, North Carolina, on December 16, two weeks before her 21st birthday.
Her boyfriend Jami Raiziah Griffin, 23, was arrested Dec. 27 and charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon resulting in serious injury and domestic battery.
Griffin’s motives are unknown, but sources close to the family told DailyMail.com that Ashanti was dating him behind her sister Beyoncé’s back.
Griffin and Beyoncé, 23, have two children, ages one and almost three, and were a couple until they separated about a month before Ashanti was attacked.
Beyoncé told DailyMail.com that they were “co-parenting” until she found out he was dating her estranged sister and that she had moved in.
“I stopped all that (letting him see his kids) when I found out she was going to stay there with him,” he said.
“I wasn’t mad at my sister because I don’t talk to her, but he knows better.”
Ashanti Downey suffered severe burns to 70 percent of her body in the attack in Sanford, North Carolina, on December 16, two weeks before her 21st birthday.

Griffin, 23, was arrested Dec. 27 and charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and domestic battery.
Beyoncé said that she and Ashanti were close as children, but they grew apart to the point that they hadn’t spoken in years and she hadn’t visited her in the hospital.
“I don’t know, I just don’t talk to her… it just happens over time,” he said.
Beyoncé said she didn’t know if her sister started dating before they broke up, but that their relationship didn’t end for any particular reason.
She said Griffin never hit her, but could be verbally abusive, aggressive and some arguments escalated to pushing and shoving.
“It’s not that bad… It was never anything like the situation they were in,” he said.
‘Everyone has their own opinions, I know, and I don’t know what’s going on, but honestly, just knowing him and having kids with him, I honestly couldn’t imagine him doing that (setting someone on fire), but that’s just my opinion.’
Beyoncé said she was living with her mother Donecia Davis while Ashanti lived with Griffin when she was attacked, and before that with her father.
She and Griffin She hosted a baby shower on January 29, 2022 to prepare for the arrival of her first child.
‘A new little prince is on the way and he can’t wait, so join us for royal fun and help us celebrate!’ an invitation read.
Davis posted photos of the event on social media, showing the couple posing in front of a celebratory banner.
Another photo showed Beyoncé in the middle with Griffin and Davis holding her baby bump, all standing in front of her house.

Ashanti’s sister, Beyoncé, and her boyfriend and alleged attacker, Jami Griffin, had a son in 2022. This photo showed Beyoncé in the middle with Griffin and Ashanti’s mother, Donecia Davis, holding her baby bump.
But two years later, Griffin was dating his younger sister, apparently unbeknownst to his child’s mother.
“Beyoncé didn’t know Ashanti and Jami were dating behind her back,” a source said.
It’s unclear how long they were cheating on Beyoncé and what led to their fight and Griffin’s alleged attempt to kill her.
Griffin’s mother, Latonya Renee Murchison, 44, was also arrested on New Year’s Eve and charged with accessory after the fact.
The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office alleged that she knew what her son was doing, but tried to help him escape by picking him up from the scene.
He then allegedly tried to get rid of Ashanti’s clothes to cover up the attack, failed to contact police and gave false information to detectives.
Ashanti was walking to a Dollar General in Sanford when Griffin allegedly ran up and doused her with gasoline and then lit her with a cigarette.
The area where she was attacked is a desolate stretch of road about 14 miles southeast of downtown Sanford, just north of Barbecue Township.
Police initially said three people were involved in the attack, but Davis wrote in another late post that the other two got cold feet and fled, leaving Griffin to attack Ashanti alone.
The couple then appeared before the police as witnesses, he claimed. No one other than Griffin and his mother have been charged.

Griffin and Beyoncé hosted a baby shower on January 29, 2022 and posed in front of a celebratory banner.

The baby shower invitation Davis posted on social media along with the photos
Davis started a fundraiser for Ashanti’s medical expenses that has so far attracted nearly $112,000 in donations from 2,700 people.
They included $100 from Davina Licon, a bodybuilder who suffered third-degree burns on 30 percent of her body in 2023, when she was 20 years old as Ashanti, by a man whose romantic advances she rejected.
‘There were many times when I could have died. I understand what Ashanti is going through and what she will continue to go through. “I’m here if you ever need someone to talk to and relate to,” Licón wrote.
Davis wrote that her daughter suffered third-degree burns over the entire right side of her body and was in for a long recovery.
‘Due to the hatred of an individual or individuals, your life will be changed forever. “No parent should have to see their daughter in the condition my daughter is in,” he wrote.
Ashanti had to celebrate her birthday in the hospital, where friends and family crowded into her room.
Davis wrote in the latest fundraiser update that Ashanti underwent her third surgery on January 6, where she underwent more agonizing skin grafts.
“Unfortunately, she is in a lot of pain and is expected to do so due to the severity of her injuries,” Davis wrote.

Griffin’s mother, Latonya Renee Murchison, 44, was also arrested on New Year’s Eve and charged with accessory after the fact.
‘He will also remain immobile because of the contractor he has to use to keep his arm still and supported due to the grafting of his entire arm.
“She is still in the ICU but is in stable condition.”
Davis said his insurance would cover some of Ashanti’s medical expenses, but the excessive cost of the long hospital stay, future surgeries and rehabilitation would add up.
She also took 12 weeks off work, much of which was unpaid, to be by her daughter’s side.
Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats said police were “baffled” by Griffin’s motives but believed it was a domestic incident.
Griffin is behind bars at the Harnett County Detention Center on $1 million bail, while Murchison was held on $500,000 bail.