ROWLETT, Texas — John Makris had his day in court, but he’s preparing for another—this time a custody battle from behind bars at the Dallas County Jail.
Makris was convicted of capital murder for hiring a hit man to kill his fiancée, Laura Grillo. Grillo, 37, was murdered eight days before their 2015 wedding.
Makris was sentenced to life without parole, but he refused to terminate his parental rights to his now 7-year-old daughter, who he had with Grillo. The girl's future was left in limbo.
“Why on earth would you ever in a million years want to take her away from everything she knows and loves?” asked Grillo’s best friend, Heather Nabor-Grace, who's raised the girl since the murder.
“I don’t understand that," she said. "It’s like the evil continues.”
Nabor-Grace said the girl is flourishing, making straight A’s in school and excelling in dance class.
Despite being convicted of capital murder, Makris demanded a jury trial in the custody battle, she said.
Nabor-Grace said she's preparing for an exhausting, expensive court fight.
She’s set up a GoFundMe account with the hopes that those who knew and loved Grillo, who was a volunteer with the Rowlett Police Department, will help.
“Laura used to tell me God had a plan when he put us together,” Nabor-Grace said. “My mind keeps going to that.”
“I’m not going down without a fight,” she said. “That’s what moms do.”