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The 23-year-old Victoria man, who was already in jail on the capital murder charge, is accused of killing the 53-year-old Child Protective Services program director whose body was found bound in a Victoria County pasture on March 15.
Victoria lawyer Elliott Costas has been appointed to represent Grimsinger.
District Attorney Dexter Eaves said that he has not decided if he will seek the death penalty.
“It is a real moral issue for me,”Eaves said. “I have not made that decision.”
When questioned whether any of the previous people of interest, specifically a former Victoria County Sheriff’s Office captain, were still being investigated, Eaves said, “No, he is not a person of interest.”
A previous affidavit indicated that a tracking dog had followed a scent from where Blackwell was found to the former captain’s home.
“We talked with the dog handlers on that and really they have no explanation and that is precisely why we have forensic evidence before there is a rush to judgment,”Eaves said. “The dog handler evidence is basically not real useful in court…
“The dog evidence is sufficient to get a search warrant. It is enough to get a search warrant but not enough to go any further.”
The indictment includes three counts. First is the killing and kidnapping of Blackwell from her home in the Cimarron subdivision. The second count includes the offense of killing Blackwell but also going into her home without permission.
The final count includes the offense of robbery along with her death. The indictment does not specify any items stolen.
“The robbery has to do with the entering, threatening to cause bodily injury with the use of a weapon or actually taking something from someone personally,”Eaves said.
In all three counts, the weapon that killed Blackwell was identified as a rope.
Eaves would not comment on specifics of Blackwell’s death nor would he speak of a motive.
“At this point we don’t have a motive that can be reported,” he said.
For the purpose of a trial, prosecuting attorneys must only prove one of the counts to get a conviction, Eaves said.
Eaves described Grimsinger’s relationship to Blackwell as an acquaintance. “Grimsinger is the son of Mike Grimsinger, who dated Blackwell for a time,” he said.
Eaves said Jeffrey Grimsinger didn’t know the former captain.
On March 14, Blackwell was reported missing after she failed to show up for work at her part-time counseling job. Her home was found unlocked and her car was in the garage.
The next day her body was found in a pasture on Hanselman Road in rural Victoria County, about 10 feet from the roadway.
Grimsinger was charged with the offense Aug. 10 and has remained at the Victoria County Jail on the charge that carries no bail.
Affidavits attached to the Aug. 10 charge indicate that DNA evidence from a cigarette link Grimsinger to the killing.
Officers were able to get the discarded cigarette while following the younger Grimsinger during a surveillance of his home and vehicle.
The discarded cigarette was taken to the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab in Austin on Aug. 1, according to an affidavit.
Investigators were notified the week Grimsinger was charged of the DNA match, according to the affidavit.
Eaves said he has not commented on the elimination of other suspects until now because he was awaiting additional testing.