Valerian “Will” O’Steen has been sentenced to death by a Tarrant County jury for the 2022 murder of Marissa Grimes, a 26-year-old mother of two.
Grimes’ body was found in the crawl space under O’Steen’s pier-and-beam rental home in Fort Worth after her family reported her missing.
“There was one person with the motive, opportunity, and the desire to kill Marissa Grimes,” said Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Allenna Bangs, who prosecuted the case along with Peter Gieseking.
Court documents reveal threats, last sightings of Grimes before disappearance
O’Steen, now 28 years old, was arrested on Jan. 9, 2022, for a domestic violence offense against Grimes.
Marissa Grimes and her children (courtesy: the Grimes’ family)
According to court documents, O’Steen threatened to kill Grimes. He refused to let her leave his house for days, but she was eventually able to text her father, which led to police intervention.
O’Steen bonded out of jail on Jan. 13. He was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and an emergency protective order was issued forbidding him from contacting Grimes.
Prosecutors told the jury that O’Steen “was mad,” he wanted the charges dropped and the monitor removed.
“And he told people that he was going to kill Grimes,” court documents state.
Grimes’ family convinced her to move to West Texas, but she and O’Steen began “talking, texting and seeing each other” again.
On Feb. 12, 2022, driving a U-Haul packed for her move, court documents state, Grimes stopped by O’Steen’s home to say goodbye. The two visited one of O’Steen’s neighbors that night, who saw O’Steen threaten Grimes with a gun, according to court documents.
That was the last time Grimes was seen alive.
26-year-old mother of two found dead after reporting domestic violence
Grimes’ family reported her missing, and on Feb. 21, Fort Worth patrol officers found her abandoned U-Haul about a mile from O’Steen’s house.
Officers tried to locate Grimes to no avail. They obtained and executed a search warrant for O’Steen’s home on Locke Avenue on Feb. 22, where they found evidence that a dead person was possibly located in or around the residence. They continued searching and eventually found Grimes’ body underneath the home.
Valerian Osteen is suspected in the death of Marissa Grimes. (credit: Fort Worth Police Department)
“He dug her a shallow grave and lived above her for 10 days,” Bangs said.
Grimes had suffered a broken arm, nose, and ribs, according to court documents. She had two black eyes, multiple lacerations to her head and bruises on her arms, hands, and fingers. Her hair was chopped short in some areas.
“She was beaten to death,” Gieseking told the jury. “She had been tortured.”
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Grimes’ death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
District Attorney Phil Sorrells praised the work of the Fort Worth Police Department. District Attorney Investigator Tim Pinckney and Victim Advocate Clara Salvatierra also worked on the case.
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