Charles Jason Graves was about 18 years old in 1995, employed as a dishwasher at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Naples, Florida. He had worked there with Brandy Bain Jennings, who introduced him to the job. Graves was relatively young, with fewer documented grievances against management compared to Jennings, but their paths crossed frequently since both had knowledge of restaurant routines and employees.

Graves’s background, including his upbringing, education, and mental health history, is far less documented in publicly available sources. What is clear is that financial strain heavily influenced both him and Jennings. Graves joined Jennings as Jennings grew more frustrated with his work situation, Jennings believed he was being held back by management, especially Dorothy Siddle. Graves became part of Jennings’s plans to get money, initially through smaller schemes or aborted attempts. 

On November 15, 1995, in the early morning, Graves along with Brandy Bain Jennings executed their plan to rob the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Naples. Both were former employees there. Jennings was 26; Graves was 18. They had approached the restaurant overnight, waited for the guard times to align, and then forced entry or used knowledge from the restaurant routines. The victims—Dorothy Siddle (38), Vicki Smith (27), Jason Wiggins (18)—were found in the restaurant’s freezer with their throats slit and hands bound with electrical tape.

Evidence found included cash stolen from the safe, scattered bills and coins behind the restaurant, blood‑stained shoe prints, a Buck folding knife, a Buck knife case, a pair of gloves with blood, and a Daisy air pistol (used by Graves). The medical examiner’s report showed that the victims died from sharp force trauma. The wounds matched the large Buck knife more than Graves’s crude knife, which the experts testified was not sufficient to inflict the injuries observed. 

During Graves’s trial in October 1996, the prosecution argued that Graves played an active role: he held the air pistol (which looked like a real gun) to control or intimidate the victims during the robbery, making them compliant, while Jennings wielded the Buck knife and carried out the slashing murders. Graves was present during binding of the victims, confinement in the freezer, and shared in the spoils.

The State had agreed to waive the death penalty for Graves. In exchange, Graves agreed to drop a motion for continuance of the trial, which would’ve been necessary if the death penalty were being considered more fully. This agreement limited the sentencing options available for him.

Graves was convicted on all counts (three counts of first‑degree murder and robbery). In October 1996, the jury found him guilty. Sentenced to life imprisonment for each of the murders rather than death.

He remains incarcerated. Over the years, the victims’ families have expressed frustration at the disparity between Graves’s life sentence and Jennings’s death sentence, especially given the evidence of close involvement by Graves. However, the legal decision had been made before trial, as part of plea/agreement and procedural waivers.