Marvin Leon Grimm Jr. has been exonerated after spending more than four decades in prison for the death of a 3-year-old boy in 1975.
In late 1975, the toddler wandered into a wooded area behind an apartment complex in Richmond, Virginia, where he lived with his family. A few days later, his body was discovered less than 10 miles from his home in a nearby river. The boy was fully clothed and had his arms folded across his chest.
At the time, forensic experts said semen was found in the back of the toddler’s throat and that he was sexually assaulted and strangled. According to court documents, they also found traces of alcohol and a muscle relaxant in his blood.
Grimm, who had served in the Navy, lived in the same complex as the child’s family and had allegedly been an argument with his parents over his toys.
Grimm and his partner welcomed their first child 10 days before his arrest.
Following the discovery of the toddler’s body, Grimm was brought in for questioning. After being interrogated for 18 hours, he falsely confessed to officials that he had kidnapped, sodomized, and killed the child. The first several hours of the interrogation, however, were purposedly not recorded.
The part of the confession that was recorded also did not make any reference to the alcohol and drugs that was discovered in the victim’s body.
According to reports, officials had discovered hair in Grimm’s car, which was said to belong to the victim. A coat was also found in the vehicle, one that linked back to the toddler.
On March 10, 1976, Grimm made a false confession, pleading guilty to murder, abduction, and sodomy, in exchange for not being given the death penalty.
Grimm was ultimately found guilty of murder and sentenced to life behind bars, plus 10 years. In 2019, he was released after serving 44 years in jail.
Nearly five decades after his confession, Grimm filed a writ of actual innocence, claiming that his confession at the time was coersed and that the alleged evidence was brought against him.
According to new research, none of the hairs found in Grimm’s vehicle belonged to the toddler, but was from several individuals. Grimm’s DNA was also not found when forensic experts swabbed the victim’s body.
Over the past two decades, the work of Mary Jane Burton, the senior forensic analysist who worked on the case has also been mired in controversy. She would allegedly save forensic evidence in her personal notebook rather than returning it to law enforcement.
Attorney General Miyares, who supports his exoneration, said further scientific analysis performed between 2002 and 2023 showed that the previous evidence, which led to Grimm’s conviction, was invalid.
Despite his innocence, Grimm was required to register as a sex offender upon his release.
