In August 1986, attorney Jessie Grimes, 55, was found shot to death at his Santa Ana condo. He suffered three gunshot wounds and died of bleeding in the chest. Grimes' son, Mike, found him dead at 11 pm after returning home from a neighbor's house. There were signs of possible rummaging at the crime scene, but nothing was reported missing.
That same night, three individuals - Timothy Stotlar, George Peterson, and Valerie Kalman, who was in an off-and-on live-in relationship with Grimes, were pulled over in a pick-up truck for speeding. Inside the vehicle, police found multiple firearms, which were later determined to be the murder weapon.
Kalman was also romantically involved with Stotlar, and shortly before the murder, Grimes had asked her to move out of his house. Prosecutors alleged that the lovers planned the murder either for revenge or robbery.
An upcoming episode of The Real Murders of Orange County is scheduled to chronicle Jessie Grimes' murder case this Friday, July 28. The episode, titled A Complex Affair, airs on Oxygen at 9 pm ET.
The official synopsis of the episode reads:
"When a retired Marine captain is shot to death in his home, detectives quickly focus in on someone close to him. The apartment complex where the murder took place holds many secrets, which ultimately lead investigators to the real killers."
Santa Ana Family-law attorney Jessie Grimes was found dead of three gunshot wounds in his condominium
In the late night hours of August 20, 1986, family-law attorney and retired marine captain Jessie Grimes, 55, was found shot to death in his North Broadway condominium in Santa Ana, California. His son Mike found him in an upstairs bedroom sometime around 11 pm after returning from a neighbor's house.
Grimes had been shot twice in the chest, once in the head, and died of massive bleeding in the chest, as per FindLaw. The same report mentioned that one of the bullets struck him fatally in the chest while the second one perforated his right lung. Reportedly, the bullet, which hit the victim's head, was shot at close range.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the California Highway Patrol officers pulled over the three suspects - Timothy Stotlar, George Peterson, and Valerie Kalman - for speeding and driving erratically on the Santa Ana Freeway at least half an hour after Grimes was shot. Inside the vehicle's trunk, they found multiple weapons.
However, back then, officers did not know about Jessie Grimes' murder and only arrested charged the driver, Peterson, on several counts of speeding and unlawful possession of weapons. The firearms were confiscated by police.
The outlet further reported that Grimes' body was found that same night. A couple of days later, officers found out that the weapons confiscated included the two handguns that were determined to be the murder weapons. Peterson, who was released by then, was once again arrested. Two months later, Stotlar was also arrested.
Prosecutors alleged that three, including Jessie Grimes' on-and-off live-in partner, were involved in the shooting
According to the same Los Angeles Times report, Valerie Kalman and the victim, Jessie Grimes, were involved in an off-and-on live-in relationship, but the former was also seeing Timothy Stotlar at the time. However, shortly before Grimes' shooting, he had asked Kalman to leave his house.
Prosecutors alleged that Kalman and Stotlar planned the attorney's murder either for revenge or to rob him. Reports mentioned that at the crime scene, authorities found signs of rummaging, but nothing was particularly reported missing.
They also alleged that Stotlar brought George Peterson with them to participate in the crime because he had a substantial collection of firearms, including the silencer ones, and often boasted about being a hitman who "can kill without anybody hearing me."
The outlet also mentioned that Kalman let the two men into Grimes' house that night, following which they confronted him in the bedroom. It was alleged that Peterson shot the 55-year-old twice in the chest, who then lunged at the shooter. Stotlar then shot him once more, this time in the head. The following day, Stotlar told Kalman's brother Sam about the happenings. Sam later testified in court.
While not much is known about the fates of George Peterson and Valerie Kalman, FindLaw reported that Timothy Stotlar was found guilty of first-degree murder in Jessie Grimes' slaying. As of now, the California Department of Corrections has no records of either of the three accused.
Learn more about Jessie Grimes' decades-old murder case on Oxygen's The Real Murders of Orange County this Friday.
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