EL CAJON, Calif. (CNS) - A man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend's twin teenage daughters in Lemon Grove nearly three years ago pleaded guilty Friday to a pair of first-degree murder counts.
Dwayne Edward Groves Jr., 41, also pleaded guilty to a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders, along with an assault with a firearm count, for fatally shooting 15-year-old Caira Rachel Christopher and Leah Sylvania Christopher on April 15, 2020, at their Central Avenue home.
Groves is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 22 years, according to Deputy District Attorney Meredith Pro. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 7.
At his arraignment in early 2020, the prosecutor alleged that shortly before Groves arrived at the home, he called his former girlfriend and told her "he had figured it all out and had a plan," though she didn't know what he meant.
Prosecutors allege Groves first fired a gunshot through a sliding glass door before entering the home and fatally shooting both victims.
The girl's mother and her other children were in the home at the time but were able to escape.
Sheriff's deputies searched the area with help from a patrol helicopter and found Groves hiding in a backyard a few houses away from the shooting scene.
