MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – At Christian Brothers University, students are diving into the unsolved murders of two Memphis brothers killed less than seven months apart.
“They were both funny,” Paige Taylor told CBU students about her fun-loving brothers, Shea and Beau Grauer, while revealing the solemn stories of their sad fates.
The English 402 Creative Nonfiction True Crime Writing students learned that the brothers were both victims of murder in separate cases nearly seven months apart.
“The family really appreciates the fact that we have this unique opportunity for a new set of eyes to look at both cases and see if there might be a thread that we can offer the police to follow and see if it leads us to some information,” Taylor said of the students’ forthcoming examination of the evidence.
They’ll now learn all the details of the death of 55-year-old Shea, who was shot and killed on Feb. 18, 2023. Shea was murdered in an apparent robbery on Lockett Place, across from Zinnie’s on Madison Avenue at Belvedere Boulevard.
The gunman took Shea’s wallet. Police have released surveillance video of a man walking away, but have made little progress in finding the killer.
Less than seven months earlier, Shea’s 50-year-old brother, Beau, was killed in a home invasion on Hawthorne Street on July 24, 2022.
Beau’s girlfriend, 42-year-old Allison Joulwan Mironovich, died of a drug overdose one week later on Aug. 1, 2022, the night before she was set to speak with detectives about Beau’s unsolved murder.
The Grauer family says they get regular updates from an Memphis Police Department homicide detective, who has now been assigned to investigate all three deaths.
Gail Grauer wears images of her beloved sons on a t-shirt that features their vibrant smiles.
“When a person is murdered,” Gail said, “it’s not only that person that’s not here, it shatters the whole family.”
Professor Karen Golightly, an 18-year veteran of teaching Creative Writing and Literature at CBU, says she thought her first venture into Real Crime Nonfiction might be of service to the Grauer family and the Memphis community.
“So each of them has been assigned one of the deaths related to these cases, and then they go and do as much online research and then on the ground research and interviews to try and find any information about the lives of these victims as well as the case itself,” the professor said.
Taylor said when the Memphis Safe Task Force arrived in the city, her family was assured that some of the federal agents assigned to Memphis would take a fresh look at both her brothers’ cases, but so far, no progress has been shared.
So, the family turned to students like Ashlyn Arnold, a junior studying Creative Writing. “I feel that this case definitely will help me be able to find the nitty-gritty details that aren’t publicly available,” Arnold said.
“After I got over the shock of it,” Arnold said, “I’m really excited that we get the opportunity to help get Ms. Gail and Ms. Paige some closure for the family.”
Dr. Golightly made an open call to the community for any shred of evidence in the case that her students could pursue, even if a witness is uncomfortable for whatever reason communicating with police.
Anyone with information about the death of Beau Grauer or Shea Grauer is urged to email the information to Dr. Golightly at [email protected].
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