What started as welfare check for Kosciusko County Sheriff’s detectives Thursday evening, turned into following the trail of a murderer with a horrific ending.
On the evening of Thursday, November 10, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call regarding a missing toddler named Adalin Stamper at a home near Chapman Lake. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the girl’s mother, Katie Stamper, and her boyfriend, Christopher Grimmett.
Through the course of trying to locate the whereabouts of the child, police determined Adalin was with Grimmett at his brother Johnny Grimmett’s home, located at 1835 Sue Ave., in Warsaw, at about 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Christopher Grimmett told authorities that about 5 p.m., a woman he thought was Adalin’s grandmother picked her up. Grimmett advised he then got a taxi and went back to his residence, according to court documents.
The taxi company was contacted and verified they have given Grimmett a ride that evening and the taxi driver recalled Grimmett had blood on his pants.
Authorities continued their search for Adalin and received consent to search the Sue Ave. residence from the owners and found a substantial amount of blood in the home. 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.
Grimmett admitted to killing the 2-year-old by beating her to death with his hands and burying her body in his brother’s backyard.
Adalin’s autopsy was completed at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center in Fort Wayne on Friday, November 11 and concluded the preliminary determination of the cause of death was evident blunt force traumatic injuries.
Grimmett, 29, of Warsaw, is being held in the Kosciusko County Jail, no bond amount was set.
