Green laser, death threats: Zariah Dodd murder suspect claims coercion, wants indictment tossed

PHOENIX - There are new details in the murder of Zariah Dodd.

What we know:

The 16-year-old girl was pregnant while in the care of the Department of Child Safety (DCS) when she was shot and killed just hours after walking out of her group home. Now one of the suspects in her murder wants his indictment tossed and sent back to a new grand jury.

Co-defendants 19-year-old Jechri James-Gillett and 37-year-old Jurrell Davis are waiting to stand trial. Both men are charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in the deaths of Zariah Dodd and her unborn child. The teen was shot in the head and left to die at Marivue Park on July 5, 2025.

In a recently filed motion, James-Gillett’s attorney argues that the state withheld exculpatory evidence from a grand jury, failing to instruct them on the appropriate charge. The defense believes evidence supports manslaughter instead, claiming James-Gillett was coerced by Davis to kill Zariah.

According to the motion, Phoenix Police interviewed James-Gillett twice in the week following his arrest. Police say he confessed to the shooting but accused Davis of threatening his life and his family’s wellbeing over the phone while a green laser pointed to his chest from Davis’ car, pressuring James-Gillett to shoot Zariah once she came out of the bathroom.

A letter from James-Gillett says, "When I had got in the car he (Davis) asked me how is it having my first body and I told him I wanted to throw up…"

The defense says the state did not provide the grand jury with the "most crucial details."

"You have the defendant saying, it was clearly exculpatory on a first-degree murder issue that he was made to do this under a threat of duress, under his life, his family's life, and the victim's life," said Brenna Fisher, a criminal defense attorney who is not associated with the case.

Dig deeper:

Fisher says the judge will decide which legal principle wins out. The state argues that Arizona law shuts down the "duress defense" because that is prohibited in any prosecution involving a homicide. Prosecutors clearly believe they have enough evidence to show James-Gillett intentionally killed Zariah.

"They only have to present evidence on the most serious crime that they believe they have probable cause to move forward on a case on. In that case here, it's first-degree murder," Fisher said.

The state’s response also confirms the alleged motive for the murder. Investigators believe Jurrell Davis wanted Zariah dead because he got her pregnant. She had a forensic interview with police scheduled a few days after her murder.

Documents say Davis knew the victim was a minor, and we’ve previously reported on his guilty plea to child abuse after impregnating a 14-year-old in 2007. Three months before her death, Zariah detailed her concerns to a DCS caseworker and they notified law enforcement.

What's next:

It’s still unknown if the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will seek the death penalty for Davis and James-Gillett. The deadline to file a notice of intent is on March 13 as both the prosecution and defense go back and forth on the motion to send the case to a new grand jury.

"They're making good arguments, even this early on in the case, which is sometimes difficult to do. So, I think this is gonna be a really interesting trial to follow in the coming months and probably years," Fisher said.