Grimmett Receives 50-Year Sentence For Murdering Child
WARSAW — The man who murdered two-year-old Adalin Stamper in November 2016 was sentenced for murder after pleading guilty but mentally ill this morning, Oct. 5, in Kosciusko County Circuit Court.
Christopher Grimmett, Warsaw, was sentenced to serve 50 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections.
Katie Stamper, mother of Adalin, had a chance to address Grimmett before the sentence was given. Stamper looked right at Grimmett as she addressed him, but Grimmett kept his head down while she spoke.
“I will never understand why you did a thing so heinous as beating my daughter to death,” said Stamper. “Why did you kill Adalin, what did she ever do to you? What made you decide you wanted to beat her to death with your bare hands?”
“I hope you think about her everyday of your life because I know I do,” continued Stamper. “I will always have this hole in my heart.”
Deputy Prosecutor Dan Hampton addressed the court on behalf of Adalin’s family.
“Christopher Grimmett’s sentence in prison will never be enough,” said Hampton. “You Christopher Grimmett are a murderer. You and you alone stole Adalin from all of us. We will make sure that you never forget taking Addy Stamper from us.”
Grimmett’s attorney Jay Rigdon emphasized that Grimmett pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the charge. According to the pre-sentence investigation, Grimmett suffers from a mental illness. The specific mental illness was not mentioned, but Rigdon noted that Grimmett has made attempts to resolve his illness for years.
Grimmett himself was then given a chance to address the courtroom and family of the victim.
“I am truly sorry for my actions,” said Grimmett, “The time I get in this courtroom will never hurt as much as what I did to the family, the victim and my family.”
Judge Michael Reed then accepted Grimmett’s plea deal and sentenced him to serve 50 years at the IDOC. After his release, Grimmett must register as a violent offender and will be monitored by parole officers for the rest of his life.
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.