www.justiceforchandra.com

[laskipper]

Suspect in wife's dismemberment captured
By DAVID RUNK
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo
This photo released by the Macomb County, Mich. Sheriffs Department shows Tara Grant in an undated photo. Grant, 34, of Macomb County's Washington Township, Mich., has been missing since Feb. 9, 2007. Investigators found what is believed to be the torso of the suburban wife and mother of two who disappeared last month and are seeking her husband as the suspect in her slaying, the Macomb County sheriff said Saturday, March 3, 2007.

A man suspected of killing and dismembering his wife was arrested Sunday nearly 300 miles from his home, police said.

Stephen Grant had been the subject of a manhunt since police discovered what they believe to be the torso and other body parts of his wife, Tara Lynn Grant, in and around the couple's house in a suburb of Detroit.

Grant was arrested in northern Michigan, said Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel.

"We're working on bringing him back," Hackel said.

Grant was hospitalized Sunday morning in serious condition, said Barbara Allen, a spokeswoman for Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey. She said she couldn't release any other information.

His lawyer, David Griem, told The Associated Press on Sunday morning that he expected to be able to talk about the case later in the day. He had said on Saturday that he feared his client was suicidal.

An arrest warrant was issued Saturday charging Grant with murder, disinterment and mutilation.

Grant, 37, who had maintained his innocence in his wife's disappearance, went missing before police searched his home Friday and Saturday in Washington Township, about 30 miles outside Detroit. Searchers found the torso in the garage and what were thought to be other parts of Tara Grant's body in a nearby park.

Few details were available about the capture, but Hackel said Emmet County authorities were key in the capture. The Emmet County sheriff's department said no one was available Sunday morning to discuss the arrest.

A truck that police believe Grant drove from his home was found Saturday night near Carp Lake, close to the bridge linking Michigan's Lower and Upper Peninsulas.

The body had not been positively identified as of late Saturday, but the sheriff has said he was certain it was Tara Grant's. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday.

Tara Grant last was seen Feb. 9. Stephen Grant reported her missing five days later. Police say that on the day she went missing, the Grants argued over her frequent business trips abroad

http://charlotte.com/206/story/38630.html
_________________
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves
~
French philosopher Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987)

[rd]

A truck that police believe Grant drove from his home was found Saturday night near Carp Lake, close to the bridge linking Michigan's Lower and Upper Peninsulas.

Glad they got him, skipper. Oh yeah. He's suicidal. He parks close to the bridge to look like he walked out there and jumped, and then takes off running in the other direction. In his dreams he's sitting in a diner somewhere while police are searching the Great Lakes for his body.

And this guy was giving halfway reasonable tv interviews while hiding his murdered and dismembered wife in the garage. Condit wouldn't talk to anyone for months and couldn't even give an interview then without looking morbid.

I don't know what Condit was doing in Luray at midnight two weeks after Chandra disappeared when the police were closing in on his life with searches, but he can't talk about it, and as bad as what Tara's scumbag husband did, he could.

rd

[laskipper]

Unreal, is it not? Cutting up the body of his wife?

He had a faraway look in his eyes in one of the interview photos- almost looked like he was (mentally) visually recalling his misdeed during the process.

Condit, OTH, gives away nothing.

A matter of conscience, or lack thereof?

Speaking of Luray, I wish someone could find the May 1 issue of Nat'l Geographic. I truly believe that the Chandra was told that she would be going to the festival that was featured in that issue.

Somehow, that story disappeared in the on-line edition of Nat'l Geographic.

Odd, eh?

ls
_________________
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves
~
French philosopher Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987)

[rd]

She was told something, but whatever it was apparently disappeared with her.

We can see the acting job that takes place when a woman disappears. Witness Tara Grant's husband coming down the stairs when the nanny came in that night.

"Tara, did you come back? Where were you?"

Out in the garage, dead.

rd

[gozgals]

YEA, this cat was trying to killing himself as he was fleeing to the border.

What kind of guy has to dismember his wife?

Should have shot him down right there on the spot.

Hope the freezing weather causes him to lose a few limbs, (OH I know I'm so harsh!)...It just makes me sick, the big actor.

He did have that crazy look in his eyes skipper.

Just a couple of stray thoughts on this pig.

Gozgals

[rd]

What kind of guy has to dismember his wife?

It's all about making her disappear, nothing to do with anything else. As long as she is disappeared, it's "oh, I don't know where she could have gone. She was angry and drove away with somebody else, yada yada yada."

All these missing women's ex's do that. They really think they can get away with murder that way.

Dismembering her was just so he could sneak her body, piece by piece, to a nearby park and bury the body parts. I don't know, it sounds to me like he murdered her in rage and changed his mind over the next five days about how to get rid of her before calling police. He probably wanted to move the torso but never got the chance.

Unless something like 9/11 comes along, which sort of takes everybody's mind off of a missing woman and makes the police too busy to follow guys like this around.

rd

[gozgals]

Tara Grant's Husband Awaits Charges of Dismembering Wife
Monday, March 05, 2007


AP
Stephen Grant
PETOSKEY, Mich. — Recovering from hypothermia after his capture in a snow-covered forest, Stephen Grant awaited a return to suburban Detroit, where authorities planned to charge him in his wife's killing and dismemberment.

Meanwhile, the sister of Tara Lynn Grant fought back tears as she thanked police for their efforts to find the missing woman.

"While this outcome represents the worst possible scenario imaginable to anyone, we take comfort in the fact that Tara is now in a better place," Alicia Standerfer of Chillicothe, Ohio, said Sunday at a news conference in Macomb County with Sheriff Mark Hackel.

Standerfer had vouched for Stephen Grant before officers discovered a female torso Friday in the garage of the family's home in Washington Township, 30 miles north of Detroit. The torso, and other body parts found in a nearby park, were believed those of Tara Grant, a businesswoman and mother of two who disappeared last month.

• Click here for FOXNews.com's Crime center.

County Medical Examiner Daniel Spitz told the Detroit Free Press that preliminary autopsy results showed the 34-year-old woman likely died of strangulation before her body was dismembered. Spitz said the remains showed no visible injuries except bruising around the neck. He said he would release official findings Monday.

Suicidal Suspect Manhunt for Husband Stephen Grant, 37, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, fled in a friend's pickup truck after police obtained a search warrant. Tracing calls from his cell phone, officers descended on Wilderness State Park about 225 miles north, at the tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

Aided by a dog and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that followed Grant's tracks in the snow, they found him shortly before dawn Sunday in the swampy, thickly wooded park. He was cowering under a fallen tree about three miles from the truck, wearing only a shirt, socks and pants in 14-degree weather.

"I don't think he probably could have made it much longer in those kind of conditions," Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin told reporters. "I wouldn't want to be out there unless I was dressed for it."

Grant was flown to a small airport, then driven by ambulance to Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, where he was in stable condition. Dr. John Bednar, the hospital's chief of staff, said he was being treated for hypothermia and possible frostbite but was alert and cooperative.

Hackel said Grant could be released as early as Monday and would be arraigned in Macomb County on a murder charge and a count of disinterment and mutilation. If he needs further treatment, the arraignment could take place in the hospital, the sheriff said.

The Grants have two children, a 6-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, who were staying with relatives. In a statement released through the hospital, Grant said he loved them and "looks forward to seeing them again as soon as possible."

Standerfer embraced Hackel after speaking to reporters in Macomb County.

"We are filled with grief and are horrified by the manner in which Tara's life was needlessly taken, and are filled with many, many unanswered questions," said Standerfer, 32. "We hope and believe that Tara's murderer will ultimately be brought to justice."

Hackel said he was certain the body parts were Tara Grant's and her husband was the only suspect.

"It's very horrific. What he had done to her was one of those things that I think people can only imagine by watching a movie or television or actually seeing and reading about in some kind of a novel," Hackel said.

Tara Grant last was seen Feb. 9. Her husband reported her missing five days later. Police say the day she disappeared, the couple had argued over her frequent business trips abroad.

About 100 officers took part in the search that turned up the body parts, which Hackel said Sunday had been halted.

It was unclear why Stephen Grant headed to Wilderness State Park, although the family had visited northern Michigan frequently, Hackel said. Tara Grant was a native of Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula.

Police with local, state, federal and tribal agencies converged on the park Saturday evening. After finding the abandoned pickup, they searched on foot and snowmobile, pounding on doors of the park's few cabins and nearby homes to warn occupants.

"We didn't know what we were up against," Wallin said. "We knew he was suicidal, we knew he could be armed and dangerous." He had no weapons when found, the Emmet County sheriff said.

Hackel said it didn't appear Grant tried to kill himself, although his attorney had described him as suicidal.

Aided by a full moon, the Coast Guard helicopter crew followed Grant's footprints and guided several dozen ground searchers in his direction, Lt. Jeremy Loeb said.

"We could see where he'd lay down, get up, lay down again," Wallin said. He said he didn't know whether Grant had left the truck without shoes or lost them afterward.

He was captured about 6:30 a.m. Sunday after an all-night search, offering no resistance. He was silent as he was hoisted into the helicopter, Loeb said.

David Griem, a lawyer who has acted as Grant's spokesman, said Sunday he would no longer represent Grant because of irreconcilable differences. He said Grant didn't yet have another attorney.

"If I can't give a client all of my blood, sweat and tears, it's time for that client to find a new attorney and time for me to move on down the road," Griem said.


Source: Fox News Crime- Link Won't Copy

[gozgals]

From Fox News Live:

Grant Admits Killing to LE

Hope this helps to put him away forever.
I also heard he was going to try for an insanity plea.

Gozgals

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Court TV article- Updated March 5, 2007

Snip>

Police: Husband confessed to wife's killing, dismemberment in vivid detail

PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) — A man accused in the killing and dismemberment of his wife has described to police the details surrounding her death, a sheriff said Monday.

Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said Stephen Grant has been cooperating with investigators and telling them in detail how Tara Lynn Grant was killed and dismembered and where her remains were dumped.

"He gave a very lengthy confession, laying out exactly what took place," Hackel said.
Snip>

http://www.courttv.com/news/2007/0305/grant_ap.html

[gozgals]

Attorneys agree to maintain crime scene for 1 week in Grant case

3/12/2007, 5:56 p.m. EDT
By JEFF KAROUB
The Associated Press

ROMEO, Mich. (AP) — The family of a slain suburban Detroit woman now has a timeline for when it can lay her to rest.

The remains of Tara Lynn Grant and the crime scene both will preserved for one more week under an agreement reached Monday by prosecutors and attorneys representing the woman's husband, who is accused in her death and the mutilation of her corpse.

Prosecutors and attorneys representing Stephen Grant borrowed a judge's library for more than three hours to negotiate the agreements stemming from motions filed by defense lawyers Stephen Rabaut and Gail Pamukov.

District Judge Denis LeDuc signed the deals during a hearing in a Macomb County courthouse about 40 miles north of Detroit.

The defense lawyers sought the extension so defense experts could conduct their own tests in preparation for Grant's trial on charges of first-degree murder and dismemberment of a body.

Rabaut said he did not want to delay burial plans and expected that the defense experts could complete their examinations within the week. After the hearing, he said he was satisfied with the agreement but declined further comment.

A message was left Monday afternoon seeking comment from Tara Grant's sister, Alicia Standerfer. She told The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens last week that she hoped the remains could be released soon so the family could arrange the burial near the Upper Peninsula town of Perkins where Tara Grant grew up.

Stephen Grant was arraigned last week in the death of his wife, a 34-year-old businesswoman and mother of two who last was seen alive Feb. 9. He reported his wife missing to authorities five days later.

Grant went before television cameras, crying, begging her to come home. But he disappeared March 2 after investigators began searching the couple's home in Washington Township, 30 miles north of Detroit.

During the search, investigators found Tara Grant's torso in the garage. Other body parts turned up in a nearby park.

Stephen Grant was caught early March 4 in Wilderness State Park, about 225 miles north on Lake Michigan.

Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said the crime scene includes the Grant's home, cars, the park and the tool-and-die shop where Grant worked with his father. Authorities say her body was dismembered at the shop.

The defense lawyers also sought a gag order that would have prevented attorneys and others from discussing the public details surrounding Tara Grant's death.

The judge granted a motion opposing the gag order filed by Herschel Fink, an attorney for the Detroit Free Press. Fink suggested to the attorneys during their meeting that they agree to uphold existing state court rules regarding professional conduct.

"It doesn't prohibit them from talking — just not make statements that would ... prejudice a fair trial," Fink said.

As part of their investigation, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said Monday that authorities would like to speak with the Grant family's 19-year-old former au pair. She returned to her home in Germany shortly after Grant reported his wife missing.

Grant, 37, provided authorities with conflicting information about whether he had an affair with the nanny, according to reports published last week.

Grant told authorities during a confession that he was romantically involved with Verena Dierkes, The Detroit News and the Free Press reported, each citing a source close to the investigation that they didn't name. But Grant also denied the claim, the papers said.

Efforts by The Associated Press to reach Dierkes in Germany have been unsuccessful.

Smith said his office has been told that it could take six months just to get approval for German police to interview her.

Smith said Monday there was no indication Dierkes had any involvement in Tara Grant's killing or in covering up a crime.

"I think the only indication is that she is a naive 19-year-old caught up in something over her head," Smith told WXYZ-TV outside the courthouse. "But it doesn't stop us from wanting to talk to her."

[gozgals]

March 17. 2007 6:59AM

Husband wins delay in murder case
Preliminary hearing for slaying suspect delayed until mid-May.


JEFF KAROUB
Associated Press Writer

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. -- Defense attorneys for a suburban Detroit man accused of strangling and dismembering his wife will get time to examine nearly 1,000 pages of police reports and another chance to stop the release of information about their client.

The preliminary examination for Stephen Grant was scheduled for Tuesday, but now is tentatively set for May 15, District Judge Denis LeDuc said during a brief hearing at the Macomb County Jail. Grant, 37, attended Friday's hearing in leg irons and handcuffs and wearing a black-and-white prison jumpsuit.

LeDuc scheduled a meeting April 17 for prosecutors, lawyers and the judge to talk about the preliminary hearing -- which will determine whether there is enough evidence for Grant to stand trial in last month's death of Tara Lynn Grant.


Minutes before Friday's hearing, Stephen Grant's attorneys filed an emergency motion to keep personal information about him from being released to the public. A hearing on that request was set for Thursday.

"We have concerns about confidential, private information regarding Mr. Grant that's being referenced in the media, and there are other issues as well," Gail Pamukov said after the hearing.

Prosecutor Eric Smith hadn't read the motion but said after the hearing he believes it's designed to prevent his office from complying with Freedom of Information Act requests filed by the media.

"We plan on arguing against it, and I'm sure some media attorneys will join in the fight against it as well," Smith said. "We're ordered to comply with FOIA (requests) ... unless a judge orders us not to.

"I'm sure we'll be answering motions from now until the day we're in trial."

The defense lawyers sought a gag order earlier this week that would have prevented attorneys and others from discussing the public details surrounding Tara Grant's death. LeDuc granted a motion opposing the gag order filed by Herschel Fink, an attorney for the Detroit Free Press.

The attorneys agreed to uphold existing state court rules regarding professional conduct. Those rules prohibit them from making statements that would prejudice a fair trial.

Stephen Grant was arraigned last week in the death of his wife, a 34-year-old businesswoman and mother of two who last was seen alive Feb. 9.

He reported his wife missing to authorities five days later and gave several media interviews, begging her to come home. But he disappeared March 2 after investigators began searching the couple's home in Washington Township, 30 miles north of Detroit.

During the search, investigators found Tara Grant's torso in the garage. Other body parts turned up in a nearby park.

Stephen Grant was caught early March 4 in Wilderness State Park on Lake Michigan, about 225 miles north of his home. He was taken to a Petoskey hospital and treated for hypothermia and frostbite. He attended his arraignment in a wheelchair because of frostbitten feet.

Defense experts this week completed their own tests on Tara Grant's remains. They were transferred to the Crawford Funeral Home in Escanaba, near the small Upper Peninsula town where she grew up.

Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 1 p.m.-7 p.m. March 25. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. March 26 at First Lutheran Church in Gladstone, followed by burial in the nearby town of Wells.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070317/News01/703170397/-1/NEWS01

[rd]

He must be crazy, right? He ran from the police until his feet were frostbitten.

It's just sickening to watch evil in action.

rd

[gozgals]

I think he was planning a fake suicide attempt to throw the police off and he was going to cross the border. Wish he would have lost a few limbs. He is one evil son of a bitch.

Nobody seems to believe in divorce anymore. Killing your wife seems to be the new trend and the way out for these evil husbands and even for many wives. I have been reading of about the string of wives who have poisoned their husbands lately. Also, they seem to like to hire hitman and get caught by undercover agents.


Gozgals

[rd]

It's the money. It always is.

rd

[gozgals]

Jury selection begins in murder trial of Mich. man who killed, dismembered wife

Police say Tara Grant was last seen alive on Feb. 9, 2007.
<snip>
By Emanuella Grinberg
Court TV
Jury selection is under way in the murder trial of a Michigan man who admitted strangling and dismembering his wife earlier this year in an argument over her busy work schedule.

More than 400 potential jurors appeared in Macomb County Circuit Court Tuesday for jury selection in the trial of Stephen Grant, who faces life in prison if he is convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and disinterment for the death of his wife, Tara.

Grant, 37, does not deny that he strangled his wife of 10 years in their Washington Township home on Feb. 9, 2007, and dismembered her body in his family's tool-and-die workshop.

In a police interview shortly after he was arrested on March 4, Grant also admitted to scattering his wife's remains in a park near his home and placing her torso in a plastic container that was found in their garage.

In pretrial hearings, Grant's lawyers said that the stay-at-home husband acted in a fit of rage and that his actions were not premeditated.

<snip>

http://www.courttv.com/news/2007/1127/grant-ctv.html

He deserves no less than the DP. That would be justice for his crime. Another monster I hope never sees daylight.

Quote:

[rd]

But he got 2nd degree murder, eligible for parole. Yeah, can't wait for this guy to murder another woman. The worthless scum that murdered Dru Sjodin served 27 years before being let out on parole, and that was for assault, not murder.

Took him all of 6 months to murder a woman. Yeah, let's parole these guys, it was only 2nd degree murder.

If dismembering a wife who's trying to leave a bad situation is 2nd degree murder, what's it take these days for a 1st degree murder?

rd

from www.foxnews.com (fair use)

Michigan Man Found Guilty in Wife's Dismemberment
Associated Press
December 21, 2007

MOUNT CLEMENS, Michigan — Stephen Grant, 37, once tearfully stood before TV cameras and repeatedly denied any involvement in the disappearance of 34-year-old Tara Grant. Now he is guilty of second-degree murder.

Grant faces life in prison but could be eligible for parole, though prosecutors will ask the judge to keep him in prison for life. Sentencing is set for Feb. 21.

"It was one of the most difficult and emotional cases that one can imagine," defense lawyer Stephen Rabaut said afterward.

"I think there is premeditation all over this case," prosecutor Eric Smith said.

In his confession, which was recorded while he recovered from frostbite and hypothermia after his capture in the wilderness, Grant said he fought with his wife Feb. 9 and she threatened to tell police about him hitting her and take custody of their two young children.

He said he choked his wife and two days later cut her body to pieces at the tool-and-die-shop where he worked. He said he hid the body parts, then reported his wife missing.

(snip)

Just before his trial began Dec. 7, he pleaded guilty to mutilating Tara Grant's corpse. That charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The trial also included testimony from the Grants' former teenage nanny from Germany, who said she had sexual contact with Grant the night before police say he strangled his wife.

click to read story
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317926,00.html

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