The Warsaw man accused of beating a 2-year-old girl to death made his first court appearance Tuesday.
Christopher Grimmett, 29, appeared in Kosciusko County Circuit Court with Judge Michael Reed presiding.
Reed entered a plea of not guilty on Grimmett’s behalf. Grimmett declined a public defender and said he would hire his own attorney.
Reed set a status conference for 10 a.m. Dec. 19 and a pre-trial conference for 3 p.m. Jan. 16.
Grimmett was arrested on a charge of murder Friday, after police say he confessed to beating his girlfriend’s daughter, Adalin Stamper, to death. Police found Stamper’s body wrapped in trash bags and buried in the back yard of a house owned by Grimmett’s brother at 1835 Sue Ave., Warsaw, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office.
Grimmett’s brother is not believed to be involved in the murder.
Christopher Grimmett was convicted of a felony, battery by bodily waste, and a misdemeanor, resisting arrest, in 2014.
He is being held in the Kosciusko County Jail without bond. Murder carries a potential penalty of 45 to 65 years in prison
