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Who Killed NBA Star Chris Paul’s Grandfather?

Writer: Nd® COMMUNITY
Nd® COMMUNITY
Sep 9
2 min read

Published September 9, 2026 at 3:45 AM EDT


Nathaniel Jones and Chris Paul. Courtesy: Sixty-One: Life Lessons from Papa, On and Off the Court. By Chris Paul. Published 2023.


WINSTON SALEM, NC —More than two decades after the murder of Nathaniel Jones, grandfather of NBA star Chris Paul, the case that produced five teenage convictions is effectively without a legally sustained conviction after a North Carolina judge overturned the surviving defendants’ cases.


Jones, a 61-year-old gas-station owner, was attacked outside his Winston-Salem home on November 15, 2002. He was beaten, his hands were bound behind his back with black tape and his mouth was taped shut. Jones suffered a fatal cardiac event during the attack. His wallet was missing, although approximately $950 remained on him.


Suspects in Nathaniel Jones' 2002 murder
Photos of suspects in Nathaniel Jones' 2002 murder.

Police soon focused on five Black teenagers: Rayshawn Banner, 14; Nathaniel Cauthen, 15; Christopher Bryant, 15; Jermal Tolliver, 15; and Dorrell Brayboy, 15. All five ultimately gave statements implicating themselves, but later maintained that their confessions resulted from coercive interrogations. Banner and Cauthen were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life; Bryant, Tolliver and Brayboy were convicted of second-degree murder and eventually released after serving their sentences. Brayboy was killed in an unrelated stabbing in 2019.


The prosecution also relied heavily on Jessicah Black, then 16, who testified against the teenagers. She later recanted, saying she did not know what happened and alleging police pressured her into providing the account investigators wanted.



The case became even more problematic after post-conviction DNA testing. Material intertwined with the tape around Jones' hand produced DNA from three or more unidentified people, including a major female profile and at least one male contributor. Court filings say none of the physical evidence ever conclusively connected the five teenagers to the crime.

In August 2025, Superior Court Judge Robert Broadie vacated the convictions of Banner, Cauthen, Bryant and Tolliver and dismissed the charges, citing problems that included recanted testimony, questionable police conduct and DNA evidence undermining the prosecution's case. The state has challenged that decision on appeal.


That leaves an obvious question: If the Winston-Salem Five didn't kill Nathaniel Jones, who did?


Photo of NBA star Chris Paul in white sitting on a black armchair on a wood-paneled stage beside a vase of white flowers.
Photo of NBA star Chris Paul Copyright: © 2023 Skyler Brown

The unidentified DNA raises the possibility that other people were present, but publicly available reporting has not identified a new suspect. Nor does overturning the convictions establish who actually committed the murder. The five men have maintained their innocence for more than 20 years, while Jones' family has historically believed authorities arrested the right people.


For Chris Paul, the crime became part of his personal mythology. Days after his grandfather's death, the teenage basketball star deliberately scored 61 points—one for every year of Jones' life. Years later, Paul publicly expressed forgiveness toward the teenagers then imprisoned for the killing.


Today, however, forgiveness is no longer the only unresolved issue.


More than two decades after Nathaniel Jones was found bound and dying outside his home, the identity of his killer—or killers—is once again an open question.


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