A Tarrant County grand jury handed down an indictment Tuesday in the murder of an Arlington woman whose body was discovered in the crawl space underneath the West Fort Worth home of the man accused of attacking her, prosecutors say.
Valerian Osteen, 24, faces a charge of capital murder in the death of Marissa Grimes, the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office said in a statement Tuesday.
Grimes, a 26-year-old mother of two, was reported missing by her family in early February. Her body was found weeks later after officers served a search warrant at the Fort Worth home where Osteen lived, police said.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Grimes died of blunt force trauma to her head.
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Police said Osteen had been released on bond following an arrest in early January on a domestic violence offense where Grimes was the victim. He was accused of assaulting, threatening and holding Grimes against her will for several days, NBC 5 News reported in February.
Osteen was released from jail on Jan. 12 after posting a $10,000 bond for aggravated assault and $5,000 for unlawful restraint, according to the district attorney's office. The warrant for arrest document, however, stated Osteen posted a $5,000 bond.
Osteen was released with a GPS ankle monitor and ordered to stay away from Grimes. He reportedly learned Grimes had planned to leave the area, according to the police document.
The grand jury on Tuesday also indicted Osteen on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful restraint in the January incident.
The case prompted the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office to issue a press release appearing to be critical of the bond system that allowed Osteen out of jail in January despite his criminal history and potential threat to Grimes.
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Police were also searching for additional potential victims, asking the public in February to contact detectives on any potential cases "that may still be unheard of," Fort Worth police spokesman Daniel Segura said in February.
Anyone with information on this case or about Osteen is urged to call Det. J. Cedillo at 817-392-4337.
If convicted, capital murder in the state of Texas carries either a sentence of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
