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After a judge sentenced Jeffrey Grimsinger to life in prison for the 2006 murder, Blackwell’s family talked about her life.
Blackwell knew Grimsinger because she dated his father. She hired Grimsinger to clean carpets or mow grass when he needed money, her daughter Amanda Taulbee said.
Taulbee recalled talking to her mother about Grimsinger.
“She said, ‘I just don’t think Jeff likes me anymore, and I don’t know why,’” Taulbee said.
Grimsinger said in court Friday that he didn’t know why he walked into Blackwell’s house through the unlocked back door on March 14, 2006. Or why he went to the master bedroom, where Blackwell woke screaming when she saw him. He said he didn’t know why he choked Blackwell with his hands until she fell still, and then wound a rope around her neck, he said.
Grimsinger said he felt remorse for the murder.
“Our family is very glad to have some resolution in this matter,”Taulbee said after the sentencing. Blackwell’s other relatives at the courthouse didn’t want to talk to reporters.
The details revealed about Blackwell’s death were only a small part of her life, Blackwell’s sister said in court. Grimsinger bowed his head and listened to Mary Allaway talk.
“I remember Sally as my precious, trusting little sister,” Allaway said. Since childhood, Sally Blackwell stood up for what she thought was right, her sister said.
Sally Blackwell used that grit at work, too, Taulbee said. Blackwell served as program director of South Texas Child Protective Services when she died.
“Those of us who were fortunate enough to have worked with Sally Blackwell will always remember her energy, her optimism and her commitment not only to the children of our state but also to her co-workers in Child Protective Services,” Patrick Crimmins, state public information officer for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, wrote in an e-mail.
Blackwell won children’s trust with ease, Jack Greeson said. Blackwell worked part time as a counselor in Greeson’s psychotherapy office for seven years.
“Children loved her,” Greeson said. “They warmed up very quickly to her.”
Greeson was one of the first people to realize Blackwell was missing. He scheduled her to work at a Head Start center, but she never got there. Greeson and his wife looked for Blackwell at home, then drove two routes to Palacios, searching for Blackwell’s car, he said.
“Knowing her and her work ethic, we knew something was wrong,” Greeson said.
To Blackwell, social work was more than a job, it was a calling, Pastor Scott Weatherford said. Weatherford was the Pastor at Parkway Baptist Church, which Blackwell attended regularly.
“She had a heart for kids,” Weatherford said. “She was just a child’s hero. She really lived out what she believed. It was part of her core.”
Friday’s hearing was good news for local law enforcement, too, Victoria County Sheriff T. Michael O’Connor said.
“Today brought to light that process of elimination and an admission of guilt,” O’Connor said. “It’s brought closure for all.”
It clears the air for law enforcement agencies that were called into question when a former high-ranking officer in the sheriff’s office was noted as a “person of interest,” he said.
The individual was never a suspect, O’Connor said. At the investigation’s start there were pages filled with ‘persons of interest,’ which they narrowed down by process of elimination. The officer was never charged.
“There was a lot of speculation and rumors as to our procedures and the quality of the investigation,” he said. “If there’s anything at all that at least pleases me, it’s that there has been vindication.”
Leslie Wilber and Allison Miles are reporters for the Advocate. Comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.