A Texas jury has handed down the death penalty to 28-year-old Valerian “Will” O’Steen, convicted of the brutal 2022 killing of 26-year-old mother of two, Marissa Grimes. The decision, announced Monday in Tarrant County, closes one chapter in a case that has gripped Fort Worth for more than two years, though for Grimes’s family the wound is far from healed.
Buried Beneath the Floorboards
Damaged floorboards in Watertown, Tenn., Monday, April 7, 2025.
Grimes disappeared in February 2022. For days her loved ones searched, until police made a discovery that still haunts the community: her body hidden in the crawlspace of O’Steen’s rental home, wrapped in a blanket and tarp. Prosecutors say O’Steen dug a shallow grave, buried her under his floor, and lived above her for 10 days before authorities found her. “There was one person with the motive, opportunity, and the desire to kill Marissa Grimes,” prosecutor Allenna Bangs said after the jury’s decision.
There Was A Pattern of Abuse
Alan Junior Pierre wears an ankle monitor after being released from ICE detention at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark, N.J. July 9, 2025. The 20-year old Spring Valley resident was detained by ICE on June 3 and has been held ever since.
The trial laid bare a long, violent history between O’Steen and Grimes. Prosecutors described a relationship scarred by abuse, threats, and escalating control. Just weeks before her death, O’Steen had been arrested for domestic violence. He was ordered to wear a GPS ankle monitor and barred from contacting her. Still, Grimes—like so many women in similar situations—remained tied to him. She texted her mother when she felt unsafe, but ultimately, prosecutors said, O’Steen convinced her to see him again.
She Tried To Leave, He Wouldn’t Let Her
Renovations plans are underway for the U-Haul Moving & Storage of Four Corners at 3000 E. Main St. in Farmington to add 600 indoor storage units inside the old Kmart property. The project is expected to be finished this year. Fmn Uhaul 0307
On February 12, the night she was preparing to move to West Texas for a fresh start, Grimes stopped by O’Steen’s home to say goodbye. Neighbors later testified they saw O’Steen threaten her with a gun. It was the last time anyone saw her alive. Her U-Haul, packed with her belongings, was found abandoned days later just a mile from his house.
A Brutal Attack
The brutality of her killing stunned even seasoned prosecutors. Grimes was beaten and tortured. The medical examiner detailed multiple head lacerations, broken ribs, a fractured nose and arm, and two black eyes.
Prosecutors also emphasized O’Steen’s brazen disregard for the court’s earlier orders. He had seethed against the GPS monitor, telling others he wanted it removed and that he planned to kill Grimes. In the end, he followed through on those threats.
The Jury Sentenced Him To Death
Razor wire surrounds the Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe, Ohio, that houses death row inmates on Aug. 28, 2025.
The jury’s recommendation of death shows the weight of that evidence. Texas has one of the largest death rows in the country, but even in this state, a death sentence is not common. For the panel, the facts of the case—the cycle of violence, the planning, the sheer cruelty—met that threshold. For Grimes’s family, the sentence offers some measure of accountability but not peace.
