Dowagiac murder victim identified

Published 11:55 am Monday, January 11, 2021

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DOWAGIAC — Law enforcement has released the name of a Dowagiac man who was shot to death last week at a Dowagiac apartment complex.

Bryce Grove, 43, of Dowagiac, has been identified as the subject investigators found dead at the Hillcrest Apartments Thursday afternoon. Previously, the victim’s name had been withheld pending family notification.

Deidra Tomlin, 39, and Jaime Loriot, 41, both of Hill Street in Dowagiac, have been charged in connection to the murder of Grove, following an investigation from the Dowagiac Police Department.

Tomlin has been charged with open murder, a felony with a penalty of up to life in prison, in addition to tampering with evidence, possession of methamphetamine, concealing the death of an induvial and felony firearm charges.

Loriot was charged was tampering with evidence, a felony charge punishable by more than 10 years in prison, accessory after the fact to a felony and concealing the death of an individual.

The charges stem from a murder that took place at the Hillcrest Apartments on Monday.

On Thursday, the Dowagiac Police Department began an investigation into a homicide that occurred at the Dowagiac apartment complex after receiving information about a potential murder. Once on the scene, officers located Grove deceased from a gunshot wound in an apartment at the complex.

Police soon narrowed in on the victim’s girlfriend, Tomlin, as a suspect. Officers learned that Tomlin and Grove argued on Monday, during which Grove was shot.

Tomlin and another roommate, Loriot, solicited help from another acquaintance of theirs to dispose of the victim’s body. Tomlin and Loriot were unable to remove the body and left him in the apartment in a trash dumpster and fled the area.

Police were able to locate the suspects at a residence in South Bend. With the help of South Bend Police and South Bend Police SWAT, Tomlin and Loriot were taken into custody.