Father, criminal justice system couldn’t save woman from Fort Worth killer, family says
The family of Marissa Grimes, whose body was found under a Fort Worth home after police allege she was beaten to death by a man who previously abused her, said Tuesday that neither her father nor the criminal justice system could save the 26-year-old mother of two young children.
Fort Worth attorney Christy Jack, who is the spokeswoman for the family, said several mistakes were made after Grimes escaped from Valerian “Will” Osteen, who was accused of holding her against her will for several days in January. Osteen was arrested on domestic violence charges.
“A number of mistakes were made after that point,” Jack said in the statement. “We cannot undo what happened to Marissa, but from this moment forward, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office has the opportunity to do the right thing.”
Osteen was released from jail on bond in January and he’s now accused of killing Grimes and burying her body underneath his house.
The 24-year-old Fort Worth man told detectives that he denied knowing Grimes’ whereabouts and that he didn’t harm her.
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Grimes died from blunt head trauma, according to a ruling by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website on Monday. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Grimes managed to escape from Osteen in January after he was accused of refusing to allow her to leave his home for several days, during which time he repeatedly pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her, according to court documents.
Jack told WFAA-TV that Osteen took Grimes to his house after the two met at a party on Jan. 9.
At some point, Grimes managed to send a short text message to her father asking for help, and Fort Worth police later located her.
Jack told WFAA that Grimes’ message to her dad said, “No cops, don’t reply,” which was her way of saying, “I need help.”
But Osteen was released from the Tarrant County Jail within a few days with a GPS ankle monitor after posting a $5,000 bond, according to his arrest warrant.
The low bond amount was criticized by Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson, her second such statement in as many days.
Wilson issued a statement Saturday criticizing the bond amount set by a judge, which allowed a suspect with a violent history to be released from jail and commit another crime against his victim.
The District Attorney’s Office “has requested that he be held without bond going forward due to his new offenses committed while on bond for family violence related offenses,” according to Saturday’s statement.
Marissa Grimes “was a victim of abuse at the hands of Valerian “Will” Osteen — a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history,” Jack said in the Tuesday statement. “Osteen held Marissa against her will and prevented her escape in January.”
Jack said “every parent wants to believe they can protect their child.”
“This is especially true when it comes to a father and a daughter,” Jack said. “Despite Daryl Grimes’ best efforts, he couldn’t save Marissa and neither did the criminal justice system.”
Grimes’ family reported her missing after not being able to contact her since Feb. 12. On Feb. 21, police found her U-Haul abandoned on Lake Como Drive, about a mile from Osteen’s home on Locke Avenue in west Fort Worth, according to the warrant. Officers went to his house, but he wouldn’t answer the door.
The GPS data showed Osteen had been near the location where the U-Haul was found, the warrant says. According to the data, it appeared Osteen may have driven the truck there and then walked home.
Police served a search warrant at the house on Feb. 22 and found the entrance to a crawl space in a bedroom closet. Officers looked down into the crawl space and saw a mound of dirt and smelled decomposition, the arrest warrant says.
Police obtained a second warrant to search the crawl space on Feb. 23 and found Grimes’ body.
The arrest warrant for Osteen noted that another woman reported on Feb. 17 that she had been held by Osteen against her will at his home. She reported being assaulted by Osteen, who threatened to kill her with a handgun, according to the warrant.
The woman also reported seeing blood in the house, which Osteen claimed to be from a man who he had tortured for fun.
At that time, Osteen claimed to be a member of the Russian mafia and said he would have a shootout with police, according to the warrant.
Detectives believe there could be more surviving victims assaulted by Osteen and ask that they contact Detective J. Cedillo at 817-392-4337.
“The Grimes family’s prayer is for this defendant to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Jack said in speaking for the family. “And that he receive the maximum punishment allowed under the law.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 10:33 AM.
