Family mourns teen killed in stabbing; 14 and 16-year-old charged

SCIOTO COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) - A family is dealing with unimaginable grief after the Scioto County Sheriff says an 18-year-old died of a stab wound he suffered early Monday morning.

The sheriff says two minors, 14 and 16 years old, have been arrested and charged with murder.

This spring, Jayson McGraw’s family celebrated his graduation from West Portsmouth High School.

“He was starting his journey into becoming a man very responsibly and very, very eager,” Jayson’s mother Latoya Cave said.

Cave says her son wanted to work as a heavy machine operator and do lots of traveling.

“Jayson was the youngest of my three children and the only boy I had,” she said. “He wore his heart on his sleeve, and if he loved you, he loved you really hard.”

The sheriff says someone called 911 just after 1 a.m., saying his friend had just been stabbed. When emergency responders arrived at 2nd Street in West Portsmouth, they found Jayson lying on the ground.

He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

“I got robbed of my whole baby,” Cave said. “I’m going to miss having my son. I will never get to speak to my baby again.”

The sheriff says two minors who ran from the stabbing scene were found and arrested.

“It shouldn’t happen to anybody,” Clint Askew, Jayson’s uncle, said. “It shouldn’t have happened the way it happened. These kids are growing up crazy down here, and everyone knows it.”

Askew says Jayson felt more like a son.

“I’m just never going to be able to speak to him again, and that is so crushing,” he said.

Cave is not commenting at this time on the case itself or the two young suspects charged.

The sheriff says more charges may be filed later.

For previous coverage:

Two minors arrested for murder

Copyright 2022 WSAZ. All rights reserved.