Marissa Grimes had packed up her life in Arlington and loaded her belongings into a moving truck with the help of her dad and stepmom on Feb. 12, 2022.
Grimes, according to her father, was supposed to pick up her child from a family member’s home. However, they never saw her again.
Days later, Grimes was found buried beneath the home of the man she had dated, Valerian Osteen.
Osteen faces a charge of capital murder.
On Tuesday, opening statements began inside the 371st District Court. Judge Ryan Hill has limited what evidence and testimony can be broadcast. NBC 5 was granted permission to record opening statements.
During the opening statements, prosecutors laid out their case, focusing on how Osteen controlled and terrorized Grimes.
The defense is expected to focus on Grimes’ alleged substance abuse.
The pair, according to prosecutors, met at a party. On Jan. 1, 2022, Grimes reached out to Osteen to purchase marijuana. They then began dating.
“Over the next nine days, the victim and defendant spent a lot of time together. She stayed at his residence on Locke Avenue. They traveled around, hung out, went on multiple dates, started a relationship,” prosecutors said.
Nine days after their romantic relationship began, prosecutors said there was a major shift.
“Marissa received a message from an old friend, boyfriend,” prosecutors said. “This was received and not taken well by the defendant. He was furious. And now Marissa will see a different side of the defendant.”
Grimes’ father took the stand Tuesday morning. He spoke about how his daughter was kept against her will at Osteen’s home. Her father called the police, and Osteen was eventually arrested on Jan. 9.
Osteen was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful restraint/exposure to serious bodily injury.
The jury learned about the escape plan Grimes’ father made while Osteen remained in jail.
“A plan to get Marissa to move out to West Texas, where some family lived in the Midland, Odessa area,” prosecutors said.
Marissa moved to West Texas with little to no belongings. Osteen eventually bonded out.
The family said they were unaware of what contact Grimes and Osteen had after that.
During a trip back home in February 2022 to pack the rest of her belongings, prosecutors said Grimes contacted Osteen.
Jurors were shown a picture of Grimes in the driver’s seat of a moving truck. Her father said that was the last picture he took of her— and the last time he would ever see her alive.
Her father told the jury he gave his daughter a pep talk, telling her tomorrow would be the best day of her life and everything would be okay.
However, Grimes stopped responding to her father’s texts and did not share her location as promised.
Prosecutors told the jury Tuesday that Grimes went to Osteen’s home. The pair went to a neighbor’s house to smoke marijuana before midnight. According to prosecutors, the neighbor witnessed Osteen berating and threatening Grimes with a gun. The neighbor kicked them out.
“The following message at 3:48 a.m. is the last message ever sent from Marissa Grimes’ phone. ‘No cops. Don’t reply,’” prosecutors said.
That message was sent to her father.
In the coming days, prosecutors will focus on what happened between the night of Feb. 12 and when Grimes was found days later buried beneath Osteen’s home. In addition to her drug use, the defense is expected to focus on the police investigation.