WARSAW —  The man who murdered two-year-old Adalin Stamper in November 2016 pled guilty but mentally ill this morning, Sept. 11, in Kosciusko County Circuit Court.

Christopher A. Grimmett

Christopher Grimmett, Warsaw, entered the plea agreement on Sept. 7. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Grimmett faces a sentencing of 50 years executed at the Indiana Department of Corrections. The charge of murder usually faces a minimum of 45 and maximum of 65 years served.

In February, Grimmett filed for an insanity defense. Judge Michael Reed ordered in March that two psychiatrists or one psychiatrist and one psychologist examine Grimmett. Those evaluations were submitted to the court and entered into evidence on Aug. 22.

Grimmett appeared in court this morning along with his attorneys. Members of his family sat on one side of the courtroom while members of Adalin’s family sat on the other side. Multiple Sheriff Deputies were present but not needed as the guilty plea progressed quickly and calmly.

A plea hearing and sentencing has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5. At that time, Judge Reed will consider the plea agreement and sentence Grimmett accordingly.

The case stems from a missing child call that occurred at 10:24 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. After investigating, it was determined that the child, Adalin, had last been with Grimmett at his brother’s house. Officers received consent to search the brother’s residence. Inside they found a substantial amount of blood. Officers also located a suspicious area in the backyard which appeared to be fresh dirt on a small area where leaves had been cleared.

Officers, along with technicians from the Major Crime Scene Task Force of Kosciusko County, uncovered the dirt and located a child’s body wrapped in white trash bags. After the discovery, officers returned to speak with Grimmett. Grimmett admitted to beating Adalin to death with his hands and burying her body in the backyard.

An autopsy was conducted and a preliminary determination of the cause of death was determined to be blunt force traumatic injuries.