RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond man who was convicted of abducting, raping and murdering a 3-year-old boy in 1975 has cleared his name after new DNA evidence proved he was not responsible for the crime.
In November 1975, a 3-year-old Richmond boy went missing and was later found dead in the James River. Soon after the incident, Marvin Grimm was identified as a suspect and arrested.
After nine hours of interrogation, he confessed to the crime, later pleading guilty to all charges to avoid the death penalty — but, according to Virginia law, he would not have received the death penalty for these offenses.
“That, I think, illustrates the fact that sometimes people do confess to things that they didn’t actually do,” said 8News Legal Analyst Russ Stone. “Nine hours is a long time. Most interrogations might be an hour, two hours — something like that.”
In May of 1976, he was sentenced to two life terms plus 10 years. For 44 years, Grimm spent time behind bars before being released on parole in 2019.
During that time, Grimm’s legal team, alongside the Innocence Project, worked to free him. One of Grimm’s attornies tells 8News that new DNA testing began in 2002 and, in 2023, those full results came back — and shifted the responsibility of the crime away from Grimm.
Marvin Grimm (middle) with his two sisters. (Photo courtesy of Grimm’s legal team.)
“Once the scientific evidence was studied, it was found that there was nothing that corroborated his confession — and, therefore, there is no evidence to convict him,” Stone said.
This week, the Court of Appeals of Virginia granted Grimm a writ of actual innocence, exonerating him.
“It is worse for the government to lock somebody up and take their freedom away for something they didn’t do,” Stone said. “And that’s exactly what happened here.”
Grimm’s legal team from Arnold and Porter (A&P) told 8News that this recent decision has been “bittersweet.”
“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,” said Jeffrey Horowitz with A&P.
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond man who was convicted of abducting, raping and murdering a 3-year-old boy in 1975 has cleared his name after new DNA evidence proved he was not responsible for the crime.
In November 1975, a 3-year-old Richmond boy went missing and was later found dead in the James River. Soon after the incident, Marvin Grimm was identified as a suspect and arrested.
After nine hours of interrogation, he confessed to the crime, later pleading guilty to all charges to avoid the death penalty — but, according to Virginia law, he would not have received the death penalty for these offenses.
“That, I think, illustrates the fact that sometimes people do confess to things that they didn’t actually do,” said 8News Legal Analyst Russ Stone. “Nine hours is a long time. Most interrogations might be an hour, two hours — something like that.”
In May of 1976, he was sentenced to two life terms plus 10 years. For 44 years, Grimm spent time behind bars before being released on parole in 2019.
During that time, Grimm’s legal team, alongside the Innocence Project, worked to free him. One of Grimm’s attornies tells 8News that new DNA testing began in 2002 and, in 2023, those full results came back — and shifted the responsibility of the crime away from Grimm.
Marvin Grimm (middle) with his two sisters. (Photo courtesy of Grimm’s legal team.)
“Once the scientific evidence was studied, it was found that there was nothing that corroborated his confession — and, therefore, there is no evidence to convict him,” Stone said.
This week, the Court of Appeals of Virginia granted Grimm a writ of actual innocence, exonerating him.
“It is worse for the government to lock somebody up and take their freedom away for something they didn’t do,” Stone said. “And that’s exactly what happened here.”
Grimm’s legal team from Arnold and Porter (A&P) told 8News that this recent decision has been “bittersweet.”
“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,” said Jeffrey Horowitz with A&P.