Love triangle twist that explains why woman was set on fire outside store in horrifying attack

A man accused of dousing his girlfriend in petrol and setting her on fire already had two children with her sister, who dumped him just weeks earlier.

Ashanti Downey suffered serious burns to 70 per cent 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 on December 27 and charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and domestic assault.

Griffin's motives are unknown, but sources close to the family told DailyMail.com Ashanti was dating him behind her sister Beyoncé's back.

Griffin and Beyoncé, 23, have two sons, aged one and almost three, and were an item until they broke up about a month before Ashanti was attacked.

Beyoncé told DailyMail.com they were 'co-parenting' until she discovered he was dating her estranged sister and she had moved in.

'I stopped all of that [letting him see their kids] when I found out she was staying down there with him,' she said.

'I wasn't angry with my sister because I don't speak to her, but he knows better.'

Beyoncé said she and Ashanti were close as children but grew apart to the point where they hadn't spoken in years and she hadn't visited her in hospital.

'I don't know, I just don't talk to her... it just happens over time,' she 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 into pushing and shoving.

'Not quite that bad... It was never nothing like what the situation they got going on,' she said.

'Everybody has their own opinions, I know, and I don't know what's going on, but, honestly, me just knowing him and having kids with him I honestly couldn't see him doing that [lighting someone on fire], but that's just my opinion.'

Beyoncé said she lived with their mother Donecia Davis while Ashanti was living with Griffin when she was attacked, and before that with their father.

She and Griffin threw a baby shower on January 29, 2022, to prepare for their first child's arrival.

'A new little prince is on the way and can hardly wait, so join us for some 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 their home.

But two years later Griffin was instead dating her younger sister, apparently without the knowledge of the mother of his child.

'Beyoncé didn't know Ashanti and Jami were dating behind her back,' a source said.

How long the pair were two-timing Beyoncé, and what led to their falling out and Griffin's alleged attempt to kill her, is unclear.

Griffin's mother Latonya Renee Murchison, 44, was also arrested, on New Year's Eve, and charged as an accessory after the fact.

The Harnett County Sheriff's Office alleged she knew what her son did, but tried to help him escape by picking him up from the scene.

She 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 in gasoline, then ignited it with a cigarette.

The area she was attacked is a desolate stretch of road about 14 miles southeast of downtown Sanford, just north of the township of Barbecue. 

Police initially said three people were involved in the attack, but Davis wrote in another delated post that the other two got cold feet and ran away, leaving Griffin to attack Ashanti alone.

The pair then presented themselves to police as witnesses, she claimed. No one other than Griffin and his mother has been charged.

Davis started a fundraiser for Ashanti's medical expenses that has attracted almost $112,000 in donations from 2,700 people so far.

They included $100 from Davina Licon, a bodybuilder who suffered third-degree burns to 30 per cent of her body in 2023, aged 20 like Ashanti, by a man whose romantic advances she rejected.

'There was many times where i could have died. I understand what Ashanti is going through and what she will continue to go through. I am here if she ever needs someone to talk to and relate to,' Licon wrote.

Davis wrote that her daughter suffered third-degree burns to the entire right side of her body and had a long recovery ahead of her.

'Due to the hatred of an individual or individuals, her life will be forever changed. No parent should have to see their child in the condition my daughter is in,' she wrote.

Ashanti had to celebrate her birthday in hospital, where friends and family crowded into her room.

Davis wrote in the last update to the fundraiser that Ashanti had her third surgery on January 6, where she underwent more agonizing skin grafts..

'She unfortunately is in a lot of pain and is expected due to the extent of her injuries,' Davis wrote.

'She will also remain immobile due to the contractor that she has to wear to keep her arm still and propped up due to the grafting of her whole arm. 

'She is still in ICU but is in stable condition.'

Davis said her insurance would cover some of Ashanti's medical expense, but the excess cost of the lengthy hospital stay, future surgeries, and rehab 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 'mystified' by Griffin's motives, but believed it to be a domestic incident.

Griffin is behind bars at Harnett County Detention Center on a $1 million bond, while Murchison was held on $500,000 bail.