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Navy vet who admitted to killing and sexually assaulting child Exonerated After 44 Years in Prison

Writer's picture: Victor NwokoVictor Nwoko
Background: WRIC YouTube footage shows the James River in Richmond, Virginia where the body of a 3-year-old boy was found in 1975. Inset: Marvin Grimm, after his recent exoneration for that boy’s murder
Background: WRIC YouTube footage shows the James River in Richmond, Virginia where the body of a 3-year-old boy was found in 1975. Inset: Marvin Grimm, after his recent exoneration for that boy’s murder

After spending 44 years in prison for the abduction, rape, and murder of a 3-year-old boy in 1975, Marvin Grimm has been exonerated by the Virginia Court of Appeals. The court granted a writ of innocence after DNA evidence proved that "no rational fact finder would have convicted him" of the crime.


"Indeed, when considered as a whole, there remains no inculpatory evidence by which Grimm would be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," the court's June 18 ruling stated. Grimm, as reported by the New York Times, is among the rare few in the U.S. to have served one of the longest sentences before exoneration, second only to a 48-year case.


The tragic case dates back to November 1975, when 3-year-old C.H. was last seen wandering into the woods behind his Richmond, Virginia, apartment. Four days later, his body was found on the banks of the James River, 10 miles from his home. He was discovered face up in shallow water with his arms folded across his chest.


Grimm, a 20-year-old Navy veteran living across the hall from C.H.'s family, became a suspect after police interviewed him. Grimm had previously had disputes with the boy’s parents. His odd behavior and an FBI letter implicating him as a suspect led to intense police scrutiny. After a grueling 18-hour interrogation following a nine-hour work shift, Grimm confessed to the crime, though DNA evidence would later prove his innocence.


Grimm’s 1975 confession detailed an abduction, sexual assault, and murder that he supposedly carried out, but DNA testing decades later invalidated the forensic evidence used against him. In 2002, 2003, 2011, and 2017, DNA tests showed that seminal fluid and hairs allegedly tying him to the crime did not belong to him or the victim. Moreover, no seminal fluid was ever found in C.H.’s mouth, contradicting the original claims.


Grimm pleaded guilty to murder, sodomy by force, and abduction with intent to defile in a deal meant to avoid the death penalty, despite these crimes not being eligible for such a punishment at the time. He was sentenced to life plus 10 years. Grimm was denied parole more than two dozen times and was released in 2020.


Forensic evidence used in his conviction was largely based on the work of Mary Jane Burton, a crime lab analyst later criticized for unreliable methods. Grimm’s attorneys argued that much of the evidence against him was flawed due to Burton's incomplete and biased work.


Grimm, now 69, filed for exoneration in May 2023. Following his exoneration, he expressed hope of reconnecting with his son, whom he had not seen since his arrest.


Grimm's attorney, Jeffrey Horowitz of Arnold & Porter, called the exoneration a "bittersweet" victory. “Working to exonerate Marvin was truly a team effort involving not only our A&P team but also multiple attorneys over the years from the Innocence Project — and could never have been accomplished without the unwavering support of Marvin’s sisters and entire family,” Horowitz told local ABC affiliate WRIC.

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