The Murder of Desiree Sunford
For this case I watched en episode of A Time To Kill. It’s season 2 episode 3, titled ‘Three’s Company Four’s a Crowd.’
A 30 year old popular teacher is killed in her home while her husband is out of town.
Background
Desiree Sunford was a 30 year old teacher, living with her husband Scott in Yakima, Washington. Scott Sunford worked at a military training center, he had been in the Army.
Desiree and Scott got married in 2003, and seemed to be a perfect couple. They loved to spend time together, especially outdoors riding their motorcycles. However, the couple had secrets and the secrets came out after Desiree was killed.
Desiree and Scott
The Murder
A 911 call came into the Yakima County Sheriff’s Department at 8:30pm on April 7, 2013. The call was from Scott Sunford, he said that he had been out of town and couldn’t get a hold of his wife all day. He said the alarm had been tripped, and wanted the police to check on her.
The police arrived at the Sunford home, which was off a long road that had no streetlights. Scott was waiting in the driveway, and didn’t want to go in the house alone. Scott was also holding a gun, and he had it aimed at the house until the police arrived. The police thought that was super strange.
They walked inside, which was completely dark. There was nothing suspicious until they walked into the master bedroom and found Desiree dead on the floor. She had been shot nine times, and had tried to crawl away. The police found several bullet casings around her, and there was a shoe print found in blood.
The police wanted to interview Scott to determine when Desiree was killed, and where he was during the murder.
Scott’s Story
The police disarmed Scott and told him they wanted to ask him some questions. At first, Scott was talking about his gun and where he got it. Detective David Johnson thought that was weird because they just told him that his wife was killed. He also hadn’t asked them what happened or how she died.
Scott told the police that he had just returned from the Tri-Cities, he had gone to a funeral. He said he hadn’t been able to get a hold of Desiree, and was worried when he was driving home. He said he didn’t even think something was wrong, not even when the alarm had tripped.
The police wanted to question Scott back at the station. They found his behavior really odd, and wondered why he hadn’t gone into the house. He had a gun and military training. Did Scott know more?
While Scott was in the interrogation room alone, he was talking to himself and telling himself not to cry.
The police were able to determine that Desiree had been killed between 10:30pm and 3:30am. Her phone records showed that she had last spoken to her mom on April 6 at 10:30, and the alarm tripped at 3:20am. The police asked Scott what he was doing at that time. Scott said he was in the tri-cities, and stayed with a friend named Paige. He said he arrived at Paige’s around 12:30am and slept on the couch.
Scott was asked what his relationship with Paige was like, and he said they were just friends. Scott also told the police that he, Paige and Desiree had a three way relationship, and that everyone was happy with it. The police ended the interview, and wanted to get in contact with Paige to get her side of the story.
Paige’s Story
Paige Blades
The police tracked down Paige Blades. Paige was a single mom who lived in Kennewick, and worked at a food manufacturing plant.
The police asked Paige what her relationship with Scott was like. Paige said they were really close friends, and that it had turned intimate. Paige also confirmed that they did in fact have a three way relationship, but that Desiree wasn’t comfortable with it anymore. Paige and Desiree had exchanged messages about it, and Paige had sent a message along the lines of if something happened to you, then I would replace you.
Paige also confirmed that Scott had arrived around 12:30am, but that he didn’t sleep on the couch. The two stories were very similar, and they asked Paige if Scott had coached her on what to say. Paige said no.
The police didn’t have any reason or evidence to hold Paige, but she was still one of their prime suspects.
Investigation
The police needed to bring Scott in for another interview. This time, they confronted him with the information that Paige had given them. The police also obtained a warrant for Scott’s house and a warrant to take various boots and shoes. None of his shoes were a match, and he was again let go.
During the investigation, the police received a tip that Paige was pregnant. They obtained a warrant for her phone to see if Paige had been at the Sunford home at the time of the murder. The police couldn’t find any evidence that she was in Yakima on April 6th and 7th.
The police were frustrated and wanted to provide Desiree’s family with answers. One year would go by without any answers.
An Anonymous Tip
In 2014, the police received an anonymous call from a woman who was later identified as Paige herself. Paige told the police that she knew who killed Desiree. She said it was a man named Marty Grismer. The police hadn’t heard of this person until now.
Marty Grismer
Paige told the police that she and Marty were best friends and worked together. Paige told Marty that she had Scott over the previous week and they were arguing. Scott had moved on and was in a relationship with a new woman. Paige said that Marty asked her if she wanted him to take care of the new woman like he did to Desiree. Paige asked him what he meant, and that’s when she said that he confessed to murdering Desiree.
The police were stunned, and they wanted proof. Paige agreed to wear a wire and meet Marty in public, while the police were nearby.
Paige and Marty met outside of a coffee shop, and this episode showed pictures and played audio from this meeting. Paige was directing the conversation, and told Marty that she was stressed about what he told her last week. Marty said he didn’t know what she was talking about. Whether he was suspicious or not, Marty never confessed to anything on tape. The police were once again back to square one.
Another Tip
The case stalled for a few more weeks, until the police received a call from the company where Marty worked. There were offices in the building being cleaned out, his being one of them, and they found a plastic bag of gun parts. The police went to collect the parts and sent them in for testing.
The gun and bullet casings matched to the gun used at the crime scene. This was literally and figuratively the smoking gun that the police needed.
The office where Marty worked also found a laptop, jewelry and a jewelry box that were confirmed to have been stolen from the Sunford’s a few weeks before the murder.
Next, the police obtained search warrants for Marty’s apartment and his dad’s house. The police found a pair of Marty’s shoes and gave them to evidence for testing. It came back as matching the shoe print found in the blood, and it also the same size that they were looking for.
Marty was brought in for questioning.
Plea Deal and Conviction
The police confronted Marty with the evidence they collected. Marty admitted to buying a gun, but said that he didn’t kill anyone. The police told Marty that they had a taped statement from Paige saying he confessed to her. Marty said Paige was setting him up.
Marty was charged with first degree murder, and he didn’t show any emotion. The police believed that Marty killed Desiree because Paige had asked him to, and he would’ve done anything for her. The police also still believe that Paige and maybe even Scott had something to do with Desiree’s death, but they still don’t have evidence of that to this day.
Marty entered an Alford plea, meaning he wasn’t confessing, but there was enough evidence to convict him. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Desiree’s mom, Connie, said:
“She was young and gifted and had so much going for her, so much to live for and so much to give. “When you lose a child, time does not go on. It comes to a dead halt. I didn’t know such a level of pain could exist.”
Desiree’s loved ones
FINAL THOUGHTS
I agree with the police, I think Paige manipulated Marty into killing Desiree. I think Marty liked Paige, but Paige liked Scott. I don’t know if Scott had anything to do with it, but I 100% think Paige should be sitting in a prison cell as well. I don’t think enough justice was served, but at least someone capable of murdering someone is off the streets.
Sources
https://kimatv.com/news/local/moses-lake-man-sentenced-to-15-years-in-terrace-heights-murder-case
https://documentaries.io/desiree-sunford-case-mistress-talks-about-murder-of-ex-lovers-wife/
