Tarrant County Man Sentenced to Death for Murder of Marissa Grimes

A Tarrant County jury has sentenced 28-year-old Valerian “Will” O’Steen to death for the February 2022 murder of Marissa Grimes, a 26-year-old mother of two from Arlington, Texas, United States. Grimes’s body was discovered in the crawl space beneath O’Steen’s rental home in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, after she was reported missing by her family earlier that month.

According to prosecutors, O’Steen had a documented history of domestic violence against Grimes. Following a prior domestic dispute, he had been arrested and bonded out under court restrictions, including wearing a GPS ankle monitor and maintaining distance from Grimes. Authorities said O’Steen threatened to kill Grimes if the charges were not dropped and the monitor removed.

On February 12, 2022, Grimes, while moving to West Texas with her family, stopped at O’Steen’s home for a brief visit. During that visit, she was last seen alive. Her abandoned U-Haul was later found approximately a mile from O’Steen’s house, prompting police to execute a search warrant that led to the discovery of her decomposing body, wrapped in blankets and a tarp in the crawl space.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled Grimes’s death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head. She had additional injuries, including a broken arm, broken nose, broken ribs, multiple lacerations, bruises on her arms and hands, and partially chopped hair. Prosecutors described her death as resulting from torture and severe physical abuse.

The case was prosecuted by Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Allenna Bangs and Peter Gieseking, who highlighted O’Steen’s motive, opportunity, and prior violent behavior. District Attorney Phil Sorrells praised the work of the Fort Worth Police Department, investigators, and victim advocates involved in the case.

With the jury’s verdict, O’Steen received the death penalty, marking a decisive outcome in a case that drew significant attention due to the severity of the crimes and the history of domestic violence involved.