1 00:00:12,799 --> 00:00:14,099 The hills of Tennessee 2 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:15,974 hold a deadly secret. 3 00:00:16,774 --> 00:00:19,175 A shotgun blast shattered the stillness of the 4 00:00:19,175 --> 00:00:19,675 night, 5 00:00:20,054 --> 00:00:21,195 sharp, sudden, 6 00:00:21,574 --> 00:00:22,315 and final. 7 00:00:22,935 --> 00:00:25,255 For four years its echo has haunted a 8 00:00:25,255 --> 00:00:26,234 grieving family 9 00:00:26,775 --> 00:00:28,074 unanswered and unresolved. 10 00:00:28,935 --> 00:00:31,035 A murder case gone cold. 11 00:00:31,529 --> 00:00:33,689 But now there's a $1,000,000 12 00:00:33,689 --> 00:00:34,909 reward on the table. 13 00:00:35,609 --> 00:00:38,649 Enough to loosen lips in backward bars, whispered 14 00:00:38,649 --> 00:00:40,909 pillow talk and jailhouse chatter. 15 00:00:41,449 --> 00:00:41,949 Now 16 00:00:42,329 --> 00:00:44,429 someone might finally talk. 17 00:00:45,075 --> 00:00:47,414 Because secrets don't stay buried forever, 18 00:00:48,034 --> 00:00:50,274 not with a 7 figure reason to come 19 00:00:50,274 --> 00:00:50,774 clean 20 00:00:51,155 --> 00:00:53,554 and a widow determined to see who breaks 21 00:00:53,554 --> 00:00:54,054 first. 22 00:00:56,195 --> 00:00:56,934 He was 23 00:00:59,234 --> 00:01:01,369 bigger than life, Such a 24 00:01:02,070 --> 00:01:02,570 loving, 25 00:01:03,509 --> 00:01:04,009 joyful, 26 00:01:04,469 --> 00:01:04,969 caring 27 00:01:05,670 --> 00:01:06,170 man. 28 00:01:07,590 --> 00:01:09,769 Loved his family, loved God, 29 00:01:10,950 --> 00:01:11,930 loved his community, 30 00:01:12,549 --> 00:01:13,049 and 31 00:01:13,430 --> 00:01:15,049 did everything he can 32 00:01:15,750 --> 00:01:18,135 to make things better every 33 00:01:19,234 --> 00:01:22,194 day. Dawn Grimes speaks from her late husband's 34 00:01:22,194 --> 00:01:22,694 study, 35 00:01:23,234 --> 00:01:25,795 seated beneath a portrait that still watches over 36 00:01:25,795 --> 00:01:27,575 the room like he never left. 37 00:01:28,194 --> 00:01:30,900 It is here, surrounded by the reminders of 38 00:01:30,900 --> 00:01:33,240 63 year old Jim Grimes' presence, 39 00:01:33,780 --> 00:01:36,520 that she recalls the night everything changed, 40 00:01:36,980 --> 00:01:40,040 04/19/2021. 41 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:42,840 How do you think the killer or killers, 42 00:01:44,180 --> 00:01:44,834 did this? 43 00:01:46,515 --> 00:01:47,415 I think 44 00:01:48,674 --> 00:01:49,174 that 45 00:01:49,474 --> 00:01:52,114 they they know the area. I think that 46 00:01:52,114 --> 00:01:53,734 they're familiar with the area. 47 00:01:54,275 --> 00:01:55,254 I think that 48 00:01:55,954 --> 00:01:59,180 they're not a stranger off the street. It's 49 00:01:59,180 --> 00:02:00,239 probably somebody. 50 00:02:01,980 --> 00:02:03,900 It's somebody that we know and somebody that 51 00:02:03,900 --> 00:02:06,219 knows the area. That's the only thing that 52 00:02:06,219 --> 00:02:07,280 makes any sense. 53 00:02:21,205 --> 00:02:24,185 The Grimes live in rural Giles County, Tennessee, 54 00:02:24,485 --> 00:02:26,965 about an hour's drive South of Nashville near 55 00:02:26,965 --> 00:02:28,585 the Alabama state line. 56 00:02:29,260 --> 00:02:32,400 It's a pastoral region defined by rolling hills, 57 00:02:32,620 --> 00:02:34,159 dense hardwood forest, 58 00:02:34,540 --> 00:02:37,680 and a quiet that feels untouched by time. 59 00:02:38,540 --> 00:02:41,439 Long favored for its seclusion and natural beauty, 60 00:02:41,925 --> 00:02:45,384 this corner of Tennessee has increasingly drawn affluent 61 00:02:45,525 --> 00:02:47,864 buyers seeking weekend retreats 62 00:02:48,164 --> 00:02:50,405 and escape from the noise and sprawl of 63 00:02:50,405 --> 00:02:51,064 the city. 64 00:02:51,764 --> 00:02:53,925 Some of the wealthiest people of the state 65 00:02:53,925 --> 00:02:56,485 own farms here devoted to horse riding and 66 00:02:56,485 --> 00:02:56,985 hunting. 67 00:02:57,819 --> 00:03:00,060 But even in a place that seems built 68 00:03:00,060 --> 00:03:00,719 for peace, 69 00:03:01,419 --> 00:03:03,280 violence found its way in. 70 00:03:04,060 --> 00:03:06,000 Don Grimes is determined 71 00:03:06,460 --> 00:03:08,159 not to be driven out. 72 00:03:08,699 --> 00:03:10,219 I think that if this had happened to 73 00:03:10,219 --> 00:03:12,355 me here, my wife would have moved. I 74 00:03:12,355 --> 00:03:13,795 think a lot of wise might have moved, 75 00:03:13,795 --> 00:03:16,275 but you're still here. I'm here. This was 76 00:03:16,275 --> 00:03:17,015 our home. 77 00:03:18,194 --> 00:03:20,375 When we bought this house, it was for 78 00:03:20,435 --> 00:03:21,254 our grandchildren. 79 00:03:21,795 --> 00:03:23,655 At the time, we didn't have any. 80 00:03:24,915 --> 00:03:26,900 Now we have three. And, 81 00:03:29,439 --> 00:03:31,840 his blood is in this ground, and I 82 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:32,819 won't leave him. 83 00:03:34,159 --> 00:03:36,799 I'm not going to run away from who 84 00:03:36,799 --> 00:03:37,539 did this. 85 00:03:38,159 --> 00:03:40,400 And he wanted to be here. It was 86 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:41,539 important to him, 87 00:03:43,094 --> 00:03:44,634 and it's important to me. 88 00:03:45,014 --> 00:03:47,974 The Grimes 2 story red brick home, framed 89 00:03:47,974 --> 00:03:50,375 by white columns and a small covered front 90 00:03:50,375 --> 00:03:50,875 porch, 91 00:03:51,335 --> 00:03:54,534 sits in the 6,000 block of Buford Station 92 00:03:54,534 --> 00:03:56,395 Road in Lynnville, Tennessee. 93 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,539 At the foot of a long gravel drive, 94 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,879 a wrought iron gate stands mounted between stone 95 00:04:02,879 --> 00:04:03,379 pillars. 96 00:04:04,239 --> 00:04:07,519 A large black ironwork letter g and the 97 00:04:07,519 --> 00:04:09,699 Grimes name are fixed to the stone. 98 00:04:10,284 --> 00:04:13,245 A split rail fence wraps the 22 acre 99 00:04:13,245 --> 00:04:16,384 property of open pasture and thick woodland edges. 100 00:04:17,324 --> 00:04:19,245 Set back a few hundred feet to the 101 00:04:19,245 --> 00:04:21,884 left of the main house, a weathered wooden 102 00:04:21,884 --> 00:04:24,064 barn leans into the tree line. 103 00:04:24,710 --> 00:04:25,370 That barn, 104 00:04:25,830 --> 00:04:26,330 unassuming, 105 00:04:26,710 --> 00:04:28,330 sun bleached, and utilitarian, 106 00:04:29,189 --> 00:04:32,389 is the crime scene of Jim Grimes' final 107 00:04:32,389 --> 00:04:32,889 moments. 108 00:04:33,670 --> 00:04:36,389 Inside it, the family kept a menagerie of 109 00:04:36,389 --> 00:04:36,889 animals, 110 00:04:37,264 --> 00:04:39,824 a routine of feeding and caretaking that brought 111 00:04:39,824 --> 00:04:40,805 Jim out there 112 00:04:41,105 --> 00:04:42,485 on the night he was killed. 113 00:04:43,425 --> 00:04:45,904 So, we have a very specific routine when 114 00:04:45,904 --> 00:04:46,644 we fed. 115 00:04:46,944 --> 00:04:48,305 The first thing that you do is you 116 00:04:48,305 --> 00:04:50,050 go over, you turn the water on so 117 00:04:50,050 --> 00:04:52,050 that the trough is filling as you're feeding 118 00:04:52,050 --> 00:04:53,269 for the for the animals. 119 00:04:53,810 --> 00:04:56,870 And he followed that routine. So this person, 120 00:04:58,129 --> 00:05:00,689 had to have watched him the entire time 121 00:05:00,689 --> 00:05:01,669 that he fed. 122 00:05:02,355 --> 00:05:04,194 The very last thing that you do after 123 00:05:04,194 --> 00:05:05,394 you go up on the hill and we 124 00:05:05,394 --> 00:05:07,475 were feeding the wild animals, because we like 125 00:05:07,475 --> 00:05:09,095 to watch, we had, 126 00:05:09,795 --> 00:05:10,694 trail cams 127 00:05:11,314 --> 00:05:13,714 that we would watch the animals, you know, 128 00:05:13,714 --> 00:05:15,634 the wildlife that would come in, the deer 129 00:05:15,634 --> 00:05:19,129 and the and the raccoons. And so he 130 00:05:19,129 --> 00:05:20,569 would go up on the hill, and then 131 00:05:20,569 --> 00:05:22,089 that was the last thing that he did. 132 00:05:22,089 --> 00:05:23,689 He'd come around the barn and he shut 133 00:05:23,689 --> 00:05:25,870 the water off. So this person 134 00:05:26,970 --> 00:05:30,189 sat there, watched this entire routine take place. 135 00:05:30,774 --> 00:05:32,074 And when he 136 00:05:32,454 --> 00:05:32,954 reached 137 00:05:33,334 --> 00:05:34,795 to turn the water off, 138 00:05:35,415 --> 00:05:37,175 they were standing in front of him in 139 00:05:37,175 --> 00:05:37,834 the dark 140 00:05:38,694 --> 00:05:39,675 and shot him. 141 00:05:40,935 --> 00:05:43,995 Dawn Grimes arrived home around 08:30PM 142 00:05:44,629 --> 00:05:46,569 suffering from a throbbing headache. 143 00:05:47,350 --> 00:05:49,829 She handled business finances at the couple's pair 144 00:05:49,829 --> 00:05:53,350 of Auto Body Advantage Collision Repair Shops and 145 00:05:53,350 --> 00:05:55,290 a mechanical repair garage. 146 00:05:55,829 --> 00:05:58,230 They were swamped by customers who had suffered 147 00:05:58,230 --> 00:06:00,055 damage in a recent hailstorm. 148 00:06:01,074 --> 00:06:03,714 Jim Grimes arrived home later from a board 149 00:06:03,714 --> 00:06:05,334 meeting of the Well Outreach, 150 00:06:05,634 --> 00:06:08,535 a Spring Hill food pantry that serves households 151 00:06:08,595 --> 00:06:11,254 in need throughout Southern Middle Tennessee. 152 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:14,139 Because we typically fed between 153 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:15,180 six, 154 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:16,939 six thirty at the latest. 155 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,220 That night, I didn't get home until 08:30. 156 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,000 I didn't feel good. I had a bad 157 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,540 headache. I'd taken a bath. 158 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:25,980 He came home. 159 00:06:26,524 --> 00:06:28,285 He said, you know, have you fed yet? 160 00:06:28,285 --> 00:06:29,725 And I said, no. I'm getting ready to 161 00:06:29,725 --> 00:06:30,225 go. 162 00:06:31,085 --> 00:06:33,485 And he said, just you don't feel good, 163 00:06:33,485 --> 00:06:36,125 go sit down. I'll go feed. Jim Grimes 164 00:06:36,125 --> 00:06:37,745 put on a head mounted flashlight. 165 00:06:38,365 --> 00:06:40,899 He headed into the dark, passing a large 166 00:06:40,899 --> 00:06:43,720 pond that separated the house from the barn. 167 00:06:44,259 --> 00:06:45,860 So I went back to the bathroom and 168 00:06:45,860 --> 00:06:47,079 I was finishing up, 169 00:06:50,180 --> 00:06:52,839 and I heard a very loud 170 00:06:53,524 --> 00:06:55,384 ex it sounded like an explosion. 171 00:06:56,245 --> 00:06:57,464 It was very loud, 172 00:06:58,485 --> 00:07:01,064 and I had no idea what it was. 173 00:07:04,245 --> 00:07:05,604 And so I picked the phone up. I 174 00:07:05,604 --> 00:07:07,125 had my had my phone. I picked my 175 00:07:07,125 --> 00:07:08,745 phone up, and I called him. 176 00:07:09,829 --> 00:07:12,470 My first response or reaction was, what did 177 00:07:12,470 --> 00:07:14,470 he get into? What's he done? What's he 178 00:07:14,470 --> 00:07:15,610 got into now? 179 00:07:18,790 --> 00:07:20,089 And he didn't answer. 180 00:07:20,949 --> 00:07:23,129 And so I walked through and went out 181 00:07:23,750 --> 00:07:26,625 where the it's enclosed now was just a 182 00:07:26,625 --> 00:07:27,125 deck. 183 00:07:28,944 --> 00:07:30,944 And I walked outside to the deck, and 184 00:07:30,944 --> 00:07:33,425 he had a headlamp that he wore with 185 00:07:33,425 --> 00:07:34,884 a flat it was like a flashlight. 186 00:07:36,649 --> 00:07:38,569 And I could see that light up on 187 00:07:38,569 --> 00:07:39,149 the hill, 188 00:07:40,009 --> 00:07:41,610 and I'm still trying to call him. And 189 00:07:41,610 --> 00:07:43,470 he's not answering, and he's not answering. 190 00:07:44,330 --> 00:07:46,569 So when I got out there, I yelled 191 00:07:46,569 --> 00:07:47,310 for him 192 00:07:47,770 --> 00:07:49,930 because I could see his light, and I 193 00:07:49,930 --> 00:07:50,910 yelled for him 194 00:07:51,354 --> 00:07:51,935 And the 195 00:07:55,274 --> 00:07:57,675 light never moved, and he never answered. And 196 00:07:57,675 --> 00:07:58,334 I knew 197 00:07:58,954 --> 00:08:02,014 that moment something was really something was wrong, 198 00:08:02,634 --> 00:08:05,214 but I had no idea what had happened. 199 00:08:05,829 --> 00:08:08,310 And so I took off running and got 200 00:08:08,310 --> 00:08:09,750 back to the barn, and I got to 201 00:08:09,750 --> 00:08:11,610 him. And I could see he was bleeding 202 00:08:11,750 --> 00:08:12,649 on his chest. 203 00:08:14,389 --> 00:08:16,810 But I I'm looking. You know, did something 204 00:08:16,949 --> 00:08:19,055 fall off the barn? Did something hit the 205 00:08:19,055 --> 00:08:20,814 fence and get him you know, I'm I'm 206 00:08:20,814 --> 00:08:23,295 looking what's happened, and he's, you know, he's 207 00:08:23,295 --> 00:08:24,915 looking at me, and he's struggling 208 00:08:27,134 --> 00:08:28,194 to to breathe. 209 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:33,460 When lieutenant Shane Hunter, then an investigator with 210 00:08:33,460 --> 00:08:35,240 the Giles County Sheriff's Department, 211 00:08:35,700 --> 00:08:37,000 rolled up to the scene, 212 00:08:37,620 --> 00:08:39,480 one detail stood out immediately. 213 00:08:40,340 --> 00:08:43,475 The murder had occurred within clear view from 214 00:08:43,475 --> 00:08:46,274 a well traveled rural road that ran past 215 00:08:46,274 --> 00:08:47,415 the Grimes home. 216 00:08:48,355 --> 00:08:50,774 You can visually see it, from the roadway, 217 00:08:50,915 --> 00:08:53,394 especially this time of year, where there was 218 00:08:53,394 --> 00:08:55,875 very limited foliage had started to grow yet. 219 00:08:55,875 --> 00:08:56,375 So, 220 00:08:57,019 --> 00:08:59,259 obviously, that's kinda what struck, you know, me 221 00:08:59,259 --> 00:09:00,800 first is like, you know, wow. 222 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:01,920 You know, 223 00:09:02,620 --> 00:09:05,019 somebody could actually have been seen, you know, 224 00:09:05,019 --> 00:09:07,259 this close proximity to the main road. And 225 00:09:07,259 --> 00:09:09,440 then just the layout of the land, 226 00:09:10,165 --> 00:09:10,904 the fences, 227 00:09:11,684 --> 00:09:13,945 I remember there being electric fences, 228 00:09:14,565 --> 00:09:15,865 everywhere in the back, 229 00:09:17,365 --> 00:09:18,345 around the pond, 230 00:09:19,205 --> 00:09:20,184 around the property. 231 00:09:21,045 --> 00:09:22,745 And that struck me, 232 00:09:24,085 --> 00:09:25,465 very curious because 233 00:09:25,980 --> 00:09:28,320 somebody would have to maneuver around through there, 234 00:09:28,860 --> 00:09:30,720 in the pitch dark. You know? 235 00:09:31,980 --> 00:09:33,820 So it would have been difficult to maneuver, 236 00:09:33,820 --> 00:09:35,500 you know, around that area if if you 237 00:09:35,500 --> 00:09:38,860 didn't have some kind of insight of this 238 00:09:38,860 --> 00:09:39,360 area. 239 00:09:41,035 --> 00:09:43,035 So you feel like the perpetrator would had 240 00:09:43,035 --> 00:09:44,254 to have been there before? 241 00:09:45,754 --> 00:09:47,514 I think they had to have at least 242 00:09:47,514 --> 00:09:49,294 some knowledge of the property. 243 00:09:49,995 --> 00:09:52,495 You know, I spent many nights there thereafter, 244 00:09:54,399 --> 00:09:57,059 kinda traversing back into the property. And, 245 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:58,179 you know, 246 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:00,980 I got lost several times, 247 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:03,519 crossing the property. So I think that the 248 00:10:03,519 --> 00:10:05,360 person would have had definitely had to have 249 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:07,459 some kind of knowledge of of the area. 250 00:10:08,835 --> 00:10:10,434 You know, it's not just something you can 251 00:10:10,434 --> 00:10:12,355 pull up on Google Maps and get a 252 00:10:12,355 --> 00:10:14,434 three d image of and see all the 253 00:10:14,434 --> 00:10:15,495 fences or whatnot. 254 00:10:16,674 --> 00:10:20,035 When then Giles County Sheriff Kyle Helton stepped 255 00:10:20,035 --> 00:10:20,934 onto the scene, 256 00:10:21,290 --> 00:10:22,190 he felt it. 257 00:10:22,490 --> 00:10:23,389 That quiet, 258 00:10:23,769 --> 00:10:26,990 unshakable intuition seasoned law officers carry. 259 00:10:27,769 --> 00:10:29,309 Something wasn't right. 260 00:10:29,769 --> 00:10:31,690 The victim lay near the barn with a 261 00:10:31,690 --> 00:10:33,225 massive wound in his chest, 262 00:10:33,704 --> 00:10:36,264 the kind caused by a shotgun blast fired 263 00:10:36,264 --> 00:10:37,324 at close range. 264 00:10:38,024 --> 00:10:40,924 Before pulling the trigger, the killer had confronted 265 00:10:40,985 --> 00:10:41,725 Jib Grimes 266 00:10:42,424 --> 00:10:43,404 face to face. 267 00:10:44,504 --> 00:10:46,824 When you said that something wasn't right, what 268 00:10:46,824 --> 00:10:49,029 what was it that you had a feeling 269 00:10:49,029 --> 00:10:51,029 about? Well, we had we had a person 270 00:10:51,029 --> 00:10:52,410 laying there that had 271 00:10:52,950 --> 00:10:54,889 deceased, then no weapon, 272 00:10:56,870 --> 00:10:57,370 no, 273 00:10:58,149 --> 00:11:01,050 no signs of any any weapons nearby, 274 00:11:01,750 --> 00:11:03,529 and a gunshot wound. 275 00:11:05,404 --> 00:11:05,904 And, 276 00:11:06,684 --> 00:11:08,304 no sign of robbery or struggle? 277 00:11:08,924 --> 00:11:11,404 It didn't appear to be. Didn't appear to 278 00:11:11,404 --> 00:11:12,945 have any any struggles. 279 00:11:13,485 --> 00:11:14,384 Sheriff's investigator 280 00:11:14,764 --> 00:11:15,585 Luke Tyson, 281 00:11:15,965 --> 00:11:17,264 the lead on the case, 282 00:11:17,610 --> 00:11:20,089 arrived at the scene to find Grimes' animals 283 00:11:20,089 --> 00:11:22,750 were running loose, unsettled, and scattered. 284 00:11:23,450 --> 00:11:25,850 It appeared that Jim Grimes had been bending 285 00:11:25,850 --> 00:11:28,169 over to shut off a water spigot near 286 00:11:28,169 --> 00:11:30,110 the barn when he was ambushed. 287 00:11:30,764 --> 00:11:33,245 Struck down in a moment of routine with 288 00:11:33,245 --> 00:11:36,045 no chance to defend himself, is it your 289 00:11:36,045 --> 00:11:38,705 sense from the investigation that there was somebody 290 00:11:38,764 --> 00:11:40,384 laying in wait, there was somebody 291 00:11:40,764 --> 00:11:41,825 gunning for him? 292 00:11:42,605 --> 00:11:44,684 It it certainly looked like that. I mean, 293 00:11:44,684 --> 00:11:46,305 the the darkest spot 294 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,159 on the the property was right on that 295 00:11:49,159 --> 00:11:50,220 side of the barn. 296 00:11:51,399 --> 00:11:53,159 They had lights on the front. There was 297 00:11:53,159 --> 00:11:55,000 a there was a floodlight on the back 298 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:56,379 of the the barn that 299 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:59,820 kinda lit up towards the wood line. 300 00:12:00,424 --> 00:12:02,745 And quite honestly, the darkest spot was right 301 00:12:02,745 --> 00:12:05,485 there where those those lights didn't get to. 302 00:12:07,544 --> 00:12:10,985 During my nighttime visit, I walked the woods 303 00:12:10,985 --> 00:12:12,924 that back up and flanked the barn. 304 00:12:13,529 --> 00:12:16,269 The darkness was absolute. No moonlight, 305 00:12:16,570 --> 00:12:19,209 no ambient glow, just a wall of shadow 306 00:12:19,209 --> 00:12:20,829 pressing in from all sides. 307 00:12:21,449 --> 00:12:24,889 I stumbled through sinkholes, over limbs, never quite 308 00:12:24,889 --> 00:12:26,190 sure what was underfoot. 309 00:12:27,115 --> 00:12:29,915 Somewhere out there, a narrow path cut by 310 00:12:29,915 --> 00:12:32,175 a tractor's mower wound through the brush, 311 00:12:32,634 --> 00:12:35,274 but I never found it. Whoever killed Jim 312 00:12:35,274 --> 00:12:36,254 Grimes did. 313 00:12:36,795 --> 00:12:39,455 They navigated that rough terrain in the dark, 314 00:12:39,990 --> 00:12:42,570 slipped through a maze of electrified fences, 315 00:12:43,029 --> 00:12:45,590 and somehow stayed out of sight from the 316 00:12:45,590 --> 00:12:48,570 trail cameras Jim had installed to monitor wildlife. 317 00:12:49,590 --> 00:12:52,649 That kind of movement wasn't luck. The killer 318 00:12:52,789 --> 00:12:53,769 knew the terrain. 319 00:12:54,554 --> 00:12:56,654 Investigator Luke Tyson agrees. 320 00:12:57,434 --> 00:13:00,014 Well, it sounds like somebody would have to 321 00:13:00,715 --> 00:13:03,434 know this existed and know how to get 322 00:13:03,434 --> 00:13:05,995 through the maze of electric fences and everything 323 00:13:05,995 --> 00:13:07,855 else. What do you think? 324 00:13:09,110 --> 00:13:12,250 Definitely somebody that would have studied the property, 325 00:13:12,470 --> 00:13:12,970 known 326 00:13:13,750 --> 00:13:14,250 what 327 00:13:14,709 --> 00:13:17,610 where everything was, and and also their 328 00:13:18,230 --> 00:13:19,449 a general idea 329 00:13:19,829 --> 00:13:20,889 of their schedules. 330 00:13:23,004 --> 00:13:24,225 Any sense of, 331 00:13:25,565 --> 00:13:27,565 from the evidence you've seen of a a 332 00:13:27,565 --> 00:13:29,665 motive of revenge or, 333 00:13:30,845 --> 00:13:32,225 just a joy killing? 334 00:13:33,085 --> 00:13:35,610 There's really that's that's part of what's so 335 00:13:35,610 --> 00:13:37,870 frustrating is there's at this point, 336 00:13:38,490 --> 00:13:39,389 there's really 337 00:13:40,009 --> 00:13:42,490 no no idea as to why they would 338 00:13:42,490 --> 00:13:43,309 have done this. 339 00:14:02,065 --> 00:14:05,264 Lieutenant Shane Hunter says investigators have questioned more 340 00:14:05,264 --> 00:14:06,600 than 200 341 00:14:06,660 --> 00:14:08,840 people in their search for leads, 342 00:14:09,460 --> 00:14:12,360 chasing down every tip, rumor, and whisper 343 00:14:12,899 --> 00:14:15,080 that might crack the cold case. 344 00:14:16,340 --> 00:14:19,220 When I say 200, that's that's really on 345 00:14:19,220 --> 00:14:21,725 the low end side. We've we've probably spoken 346 00:14:21,725 --> 00:14:22,225 to 347 00:14:22,524 --> 00:14:24,625 just that many people that hadn't associated 348 00:14:25,325 --> 00:14:26,304 with mister Grimes. 349 00:14:27,164 --> 00:14:28,705 He was a prominent leader, 350 00:14:29,965 --> 00:14:32,524 in Spring Hill. He was a civic, you 351 00:14:32,524 --> 00:14:33,024 know, 352 00:14:33,399 --> 00:14:36,120 part of the multiple groups up there. So, 353 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,759 obviously, he touched many lives, was a big 354 00:14:38,759 --> 00:14:41,259 part of the, boys and girls club, 355 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,100 just a very genuinely good person. So, 356 00:14:46,235 --> 00:14:48,174 he had a lot of contact. So, ultimately, 357 00:14:48,315 --> 00:14:50,715 you know, when we would go interview somebody, 358 00:14:50,715 --> 00:14:51,914 you know, they would say, well, you need 359 00:14:51,914 --> 00:14:53,754 to go talk to this person and whatever. 360 00:14:53,754 --> 00:14:54,254 So, 361 00:14:54,955 --> 00:14:57,195 like I said, easily 200 people that we've 362 00:14:57,195 --> 00:14:59,754 talked to that just had personal contact or 363 00:14:59,754 --> 00:15:02,549 knowledge about him, throughout, you know, the last 364 00:15:02,549 --> 00:15:03,370 four years. 365 00:15:04,070 --> 00:15:05,529 Not a person that had 366 00:15:06,230 --> 00:15:07,610 a a problem to grind 367 00:15:08,309 --> 00:15:10,790 with mister Grimes. I did did people that 368 00:15:10,790 --> 00:15:12,950 even he'd been dismissed from work still speak 369 00:15:12,950 --> 00:15:13,995 highly of him? 370 00:15:14,315 --> 00:15:17,115 Absolutely. And that's what makes this case so 371 00:15:17,115 --> 00:15:18,495 difficult is that 372 00:15:19,195 --> 00:15:21,534 not that you dismiss any victim, 373 00:15:22,394 --> 00:15:24,315 but I've been doing this for twenty seven 374 00:15:24,315 --> 00:15:24,815 years, 375 00:15:25,514 --> 00:15:28,095 and this is probably one of the most 376 00:15:29,019 --> 00:15:30,799 difficult cases I've worked, 377 00:15:32,220 --> 00:15:33,839 when it's relating to a victim 378 00:15:34,539 --> 00:15:36,700 because you can't could not find anybody that 379 00:15:36,700 --> 00:15:38,220 had a bad word to say about him. 380 00:15:38,460 --> 00:15:41,019 You know, genuinely, you you'll find somebody that's 381 00:15:41,019 --> 00:15:43,725 had some kinda tiff with a person that, 382 00:15:43,725 --> 00:15:44,384 you know, 383 00:15:45,004 --> 00:15:47,164 throughout the years and would say something negative 384 00:15:47,164 --> 00:15:48,384 about a victim. But 385 00:15:48,764 --> 00:15:51,004 but that was what was unusual about mister 386 00:15:51,004 --> 00:15:52,144 Grimes was that, 387 00:15:52,524 --> 00:15:54,704 people that had he had employed 388 00:15:55,004 --> 00:15:55,904 and had terminated 389 00:15:56,809 --> 00:15:59,529 still had nothing but very good things to 390 00:15:59,529 --> 00:16:00,330 say about him. 391 00:16:01,049 --> 00:16:03,610 You know, they would genuinely say, you know, 392 00:16:03,610 --> 00:16:05,690 yeah. You know, I messed up. He had 393 00:16:05,690 --> 00:16:07,370 to fire me, but, you know, I still 394 00:16:07,370 --> 00:16:08,889 loved him. You know? He was a good 395 00:16:08,889 --> 00:16:09,389 man. 396 00:16:10,235 --> 00:16:12,735 He was concerned about everybody's family, 397 00:16:13,754 --> 00:16:15,834 would try to introduce you to God and 398 00:16:15,834 --> 00:16:17,294 and religion. And, 399 00:16:17,674 --> 00:16:18,414 you know, 400 00:16:19,434 --> 00:16:21,054 there was one individual that 401 00:16:22,350 --> 00:16:22,850 that 402 00:16:23,149 --> 00:16:25,149 obviously, they own a body shop, and mister 403 00:16:25,149 --> 00:16:28,269 Grimes is seen where somebody had spray painted 404 00:16:28,269 --> 00:16:28,769 something, 405 00:16:29,549 --> 00:16:30,049 inappropriate, 406 00:16:31,230 --> 00:16:33,710 political purposes on this person's car, and and 407 00:16:33,710 --> 00:16:35,309 he found a way to get in contact 408 00:16:35,309 --> 00:16:36,690 with him and said, you know, 409 00:16:37,585 --> 00:16:39,345 I'll I'll take care of your your vehicle 410 00:16:39,345 --> 00:16:41,664 and and actually, you know, painted their vehicle 411 00:16:41,664 --> 00:16:43,585 for him, you know, just out of his 412 00:16:43,585 --> 00:16:45,825 own pocket. So that kinda goes to the 413 00:16:45,825 --> 00:16:48,004 fortitude that, you know, 414 00:16:48,465 --> 00:16:50,085 mister Grimes stood for. 415 00:16:51,629 --> 00:16:54,589 The small sheriff's department has poured thousands of 416 00:16:54,589 --> 00:16:55,889 hours into the case, 417 00:16:56,509 --> 00:16:59,649 following leads that have stretched far beyond Tennessee, 418 00:16:59,870 --> 00:17:01,329 some spanning the country. 419 00:17:02,110 --> 00:17:04,429 It's the kind of sustained commitment that most 420 00:17:04,429 --> 00:17:07,644 big city departments, burdened by budgets and bureaucracy, 421 00:17:07,865 --> 00:17:09,644 could rarely afford to make. 422 00:17:10,345 --> 00:17:11,085 For example, 423 00:17:11,384 --> 00:17:14,605 Lieutenant Jeff Perkins focused on a digital trail. 424 00:17:14,984 --> 00:17:17,384 He wanted to know, did the killer have 425 00:17:17,384 --> 00:17:19,404 a cell phone on him that night? 426 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,259 In the digital age, it's a routine yet 427 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,180 powerful investigative tool, 428 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:25,140 triangulating 429 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,640 signals between cell towers to determine whether a 430 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:31,059 phone had been present at the crime scene. 431 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,840 If the killer left his phone on even 432 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:34,740 for a moment, 433 00:17:35,065 --> 00:17:37,085 it could betray his location. 434 00:17:38,744 --> 00:17:42,205 Because of the area that this particular homicide 435 00:17:42,904 --> 00:17:43,805 occurred at, 436 00:17:44,184 --> 00:17:46,605 it just so happens that the towers actually 437 00:17:47,065 --> 00:17:50,059 are in line. You have three towers that 438 00:17:50,059 --> 00:17:50,799 are literally 439 00:17:51,180 --> 00:17:52,640 a linear alignment. 440 00:17:53,180 --> 00:17:55,680 That's no good if we're trying to do 441 00:17:56,140 --> 00:17:59,180 data extraction from cell dumps that we could 442 00:17:59,180 --> 00:18:00,320 maybe time 443 00:18:00,859 --> 00:18:01,359 frame 444 00:18:01,980 --> 00:18:04,795 where a phone would be. So g lock 445 00:18:04,795 --> 00:18:05,855 or that would be 446 00:18:06,394 --> 00:18:07,615 geographical location. 447 00:18:08,154 --> 00:18:10,555 If you try and extrapolate that from numbers, 448 00:18:10,555 --> 00:18:11,934 well, usually you have 449 00:18:12,235 --> 00:18:13,994 a cell tower and it's got three sides 450 00:18:13,994 --> 00:18:15,295 to it, right? So you've 451 00:18:16,315 --> 00:18:18,555 got your ranges, your azimuth, and then you 452 00:18:18,555 --> 00:18:20,829 got your sectors, three sixty degrees. That's the 453 00:18:20,829 --> 00:18:22,130 way it's all broken down. 454 00:18:22,509 --> 00:18:24,109 And from that point, if you have a 455 00:18:24,109 --> 00:18:27,150 tower here and maybe a tower eastward or 456 00:18:27,150 --> 00:18:27,650 westward, 457 00:18:28,429 --> 00:18:29,569 well you could then 458 00:18:30,829 --> 00:18:32,609 get through time manipulation. 459 00:18:32,990 --> 00:18:34,750 Looking through the data, you could see yeah, 460 00:18:34,750 --> 00:18:36,264 the phone was here at one 461 00:18:36,565 --> 00:18:38,325 point, it pinged off that other tower, and 462 00:18:38,325 --> 00:18:40,724 then it pinged back to this particular tower, 463 00:18:40,724 --> 00:18:43,204 the the primary tower, and then you can 464 00:18:43,204 --> 00:18:45,764 do time variances and it's what we call 465 00:18:45,764 --> 00:18:47,845 time difference. And at that point, you could 466 00:18:47,845 --> 00:18:49,704 actually track somebody's location. 467 00:18:50,029 --> 00:18:52,029 Well, we couldn't do that because of the 468 00:18:52,029 --> 00:18:54,349 cell towers that we have in this particular 469 00:18:54,349 --> 00:18:54,849 area. 470 00:18:55,470 --> 00:18:57,549 Trust me, we've gone to every extent you 471 00:18:57,549 --> 00:18:58,690 could possibly imagine. 472 00:18:59,630 --> 00:19:03,169 Lieutenant Perkins turned to another investigative tactic, 473 00:19:03,565 --> 00:19:06,605 one that blended old fashioned detective work with 474 00:19:06,605 --> 00:19:08,305 modern computer coding. 475 00:19:08,765 --> 00:19:11,825 He wrote a custom computer program to analyze 476 00:19:11,884 --> 00:19:14,845 the phone numbers of more than 6,000 477 00:19:14,845 --> 00:19:16,305 of Jim Grimes' customers 478 00:19:16,990 --> 00:19:18,509 just in case one of them had a 479 00:19:18,509 --> 00:19:19,009 grudge. 480 00:19:19,710 --> 00:19:22,269 His goal, to determine whether any of them 481 00:19:22,269 --> 00:19:24,349 had been near the Grimes' property on the 482 00:19:24,349 --> 00:19:27,390 night of the murder using location data as 483 00:19:27,390 --> 00:19:28,529 a silent witness. 484 00:19:29,069 --> 00:19:30,450 It was a long shot, 485 00:19:30,750 --> 00:19:32,210 and it came up empty. 486 00:19:33,634 --> 00:19:35,794 It sounds like it was the perfect scene 487 00:19:35,794 --> 00:19:36,775 for a crime. 488 00:19:37,634 --> 00:19:40,034 Yeah. No question about it. If you think 489 00:19:40,034 --> 00:19:40,534 about 490 00:19:41,154 --> 00:19:44,674 who would know that the towers or something 491 00:19:44,674 --> 00:19:46,595 like that couldn't track someone there at that 492 00:19:46,595 --> 00:19:47,095 particular 493 00:19:47,579 --> 00:19:50,140 night, right, or that particular area. I don't 494 00:19:50,140 --> 00:19:52,220 think anybody would think about that stuff, right? 495 00:19:52,220 --> 00:19:54,380 But it just so happens that was one 496 00:19:54,380 --> 00:19:56,079 huge negative for us, right? 497 00:19:56,619 --> 00:19:59,019 Like you said, also no cameras in the 498 00:19:59,019 --> 00:20:01,919 back. The two cameras that were back 499 00:20:02,565 --> 00:20:03,065 for, 500 00:20:03,605 --> 00:20:06,024 you know, the trail cams, they weren't exactly 501 00:20:06,164 --> 00:20:07,304 pointing in the direction 502 00:20:08,005 --> 00:20:08,505 that 503 00:20:10,005 --> 00:20:11,384 James was found at. 504 00:20:11,845 --> 00:20:14,884 So somebody either would have known they were 505 00:20:14,884 --> 00:20:17,880 there or just by pure luck, they never 506 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,880 came across those cameras because that would have 507 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:21,820 been coming across behind the barn 508 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,200 and that would be east to west and 509 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:25,980 it would have picked that stuff up. 510 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:29,580 Yeah, it's pretty unusual though. And to think 511 00:20:29,704 --> 00:20:31,305 that no one would hear anything, but again, 512 00:20:31,305 --> 00:20:34,525 this look secluded area. Right? This is, 513 00:20:35,224 --> 00:20:35,724 rural 514 00:20:36,424 --> 00:20:39,065 typical Giles County. You've got people that live 515 00:20:39,065 --> 00:20:40,924 in spots and you never hear anything. 516 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,359 The Giles County Sheriff brought in one of 517 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:47,900 the nation's foremost experts on unsolved homicides, 518 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:50,700 legendary cold case investigator, 519 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,259 Joe Kennedy, from the Carolinas 520 00:20:53,559 --> 00:20:54,700 Cold Case Coalition. 521 00:20:55,974 --> 00:20:56,875 Now retired, 522 00:20:57,335 --> 00:20:59,815 Kennedy made his mark as a special agent 523 00:20:59,815 --> 00:21:00,634 with NCIS, 524 00:21:01,494 --> 00:21:04,774 where he founded the federal government's first cold 525 00:21:04,774 --> 00:21:05,514 case unit. 526 00:21:06,214 --> 00:21:08,855 He didn't just work the toughest cases, he 527 00:21:08,855 --> 00:21:10,954 helped write the playbook for investigators. 528 00:21:11,869 --> 00:21:14,269 I interviewed him in 2023 529 00:21:14,269 --> 00:21:15,650 for a two part series, 530 00:21:15,950 --> 00:21:17,950 and I've included the links in the show 531 00:21:17,950 --> 00:21:18,450 notes. 532 00:21:19,230 --> 00:21:21,869 Kennedy encouraged me to report on the Grimes 533 00:21:21,869 --> 00:21:25,869 case, hoping that renewed attention and the $1,000,000 534 00:21:25,869 --> 00:21:26,369 reward 535 00:21:27,075 --> 00:21:29,474 might flush out new leads or shake loose 536 00:21:29,474 --> 00:21:30,774 a long held secret. 537 00:21:31,634 --> 00:21:34,274 As we left the crime scene together, we 538 00:21:34,274 --> 00:21:36,054 discussed the case's complexity. 539 00:21:36,835 --> 00:21:37,815 It was clear. 540 00:21:38,115 --> 00:21:40,755 This wasn't just a random killing. It was 541 00:21:40,755 --> 00:21:41,255 calculated, 542 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,579 and someone out there knows why. 543 00:21:45,279 --> 00:21:46,880 In my mind, there's probably no more than 544 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:48,579 three or four suspects in this case. 545 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:50,799 It's just getting to that right suspect, and 546 00:21:50,799 --> 00:21:52,660 that's the hard part about cold cases 547 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:54,960 is how do we narrow down that pool 548 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,500 of suspects? And that's the 549 00:21:56,984 --> 00:21:59,384 that's the the million dollar question, right, in 550 00:21:59,384 --> 00:22:01,944 this one. And, you know, this case is 551 00:22:01,944 --> 00:22:03,005 is very difficult. 552 00:22:03,625 --> 00:22:04,845 You know, it's a single, 553 00:22:06,345 --> 00:22:08,045 shotgun blast in the chest. 554 00:22:08,744 --> 00:22:09,569 You know, the ammunition is 555 00:22:10,529 --> 00:22:11,509 is not extremely 556 00:22:12,049 --> 00:22:12,549 rare. 557 00:22:13,169 --> 00:22:15,409 So, you know, that's a that's a hard 558 00:22:15,409 --> 00:22:17,269 path to travel to try to identify, 559 00:22:17,809 --> 00:22:20,289 you know, or link a particular suspect to 560 00:22:20,289 --> 00:22:21,029 the ammunition. 561 00:22:21,970 --> 00:22:24,554 There is no shotgun shell that's left behind. 562 00:22:24,694 --> 00:22:25,595 You know, essentially, 563 00:22:26,454 --> 00:22:28,794 this is a crime scene devoid 564 00:22:29,095 --> 00:22:30,154 of physical evidence. 565 00:22:30,855 --> 00:22:33,355 There's no physical evidence to speak of, 566 00:22:33,974 --> 00:22:35,669 other than that, you know, the remnants of 567 00:22:35,669 --> 00:22:35,990 that, 568 00:22:36,630 --> 00:22:39,109 shotgun blast. And it's you know, it does 569 00:22:39,109 --> 00:22:41,269 give us some clues, but but they're not 570 00:22:41,269 --> 00:22:44,149 real viable clues that we can follow to 571 00:22:44,149 --> 00:22:45,849 to lead us to a particular person. 572 00:22:48,230 --> 00:22:51,085 Your experience has shown that most murders 573 00:22:51,545 --> 00:22:53,704 occur outdoors. Break that down for me. And 574 00:22:53,704 --> 00:22:55,805 are they more difficult to solve outdoors? 575 00:22:56,265 --> 00:22:58,585 Yeah. So you'll you'll you'll see that about 576 00:22:58,585 --> 00:23:00,765 two thirds of murders are committed outdoors. 577 00:23:01,384 --> 00:23:03,990 About one third of murders are committed indoors. 578 00:23:04,529 --> 00:23:06,309 Of course, just nature itself, 579 00:23:07,089 --> 00:23:07,589 sunlight, 580 00:23:08,210 --> 00:23:08,710 right, 581 00:23:09,169 --> 00:23:10,470 exposure to the weather, 582 00:23:11,490 --> 00:23:11,990 destroys 583 00:23:12,369 --> 00:23:13,829 or degrades DNA 584 00:23:14,210 --> 00:23:15,704 at a outdoor crime scene. 585 00:23:16,424 --> 00:23:18,365 And you'll find that we have a higher 586 00:23:18,585 --> 00:23:20,924 closure rate on indoor crime scenes, 587 00:23:21,544 --> 00:23:24,924 somewhere sometimes upwards in excess of 10% higher 588 00:23:25,224 --> 00:23:27,484 closure rate for indoor murders. 589 00:23:28,105 --> 00:23:28,585 And, 590 00:23:29,089 --> 00:23:31,490 indoor murders are easier to work. The the 591 00:23:31,490 --> 00:23:34,470 the evidence the physical evidence is preserved better. 592 00:23:36,450 --> 00:23:39,509 Typically, that requires people to enter and exit 593 00:23:39,650 --> 00:23:40,150 locations 594 00:23:41,244 --> 00:23:44,204 where maybe there's an ability to track that 595 00:23:44,204 --> 00:23:46,865 movement of an individual. Whereas outdoor scenes, 596 00:23:47,325 --> 00:23:48,845 like the one we have here in Giles 597 00:23:48,845 --> 00:23:50,704 County, it's much more difficult, 598 00:23:51,164 --> 00:23:53,804 you know, to to trace the whereabouts and 599 00:23:53,804 --> 00:23:55,869 the travels of a particular suspect 600 00:23:56,250 --> 00:23:57,869 both before and after the murder. 601 00:23:59,369 --> 00:24:00,590 I am impressed 602 00:24:02,170 --> 00:24:02,670 by 603 00:24:03,049 --> 00:24:05,549 a small department and a few detectives. 604 00:24:06,410 --> 00:24:09,095 How much time and resources they put into 605 00:24:09,474 --> 00:24:11,234 this, I I don't know that you would 606 00:24:11,234 --> 00:24:12,855 see that kind of dedication 607 00:24:13,394 --> 00:24:15,474 in a big city police department. Well, I 608 00:24:15,474 --> 00:24:16,454 will say this, 609 00:24:17,075 --> 00:24:19,394 I was extremely impressed with the effort of 610 00:24:19,394 --> 00:24:21,015 the Giles County Sheriff's Department. 611 00:24:21,795 --> 00:24:23,789 We initially came out here in March of 612 00:24:23,789 --> 00:24:24,609 last year. 613 00:24:25,549 --> 00:24:28,669 Myself, Craig Ackley, retired FBI agent, just a 614 00:24:28,669 --> 00:24:29,649 a brilliant investigator. 615 00:24:30,349 --> 00:24:32,750 Ed Collins, retired New York State Police, another 616 00:24:32,750 --> 00:24:33,649 brilliant investigator. 617 00:24:34,190 --> 00:24:36,750 And we all commented in our way back 618 00:24:36,750 --> 00:24:38,704 after we had been out here last year 619 00:24:39,005 --> 00:24:40,944 that, wow, for such a small department, 620 00:24:41,484 --> 00:24:43,105 these guys put an impressive 621 00:24:43,565 --> 00:24:45,105 investigative product together. 622 00:24:45,565 --> 00:24:47,825 And they have, you know, uncovered 623 00:24:48,525 --> 00:24:49,424 all the stones 624 00:24:49,724 --> 00:24:52,250 that they possibly could have. They've done some 625 00:24:52,250 --> 00:24:53,470 very nontraditional 626 00:24:53,930 --> 00:24:55,070 investigative techniques. 627 00:24:56,490 --> 00:24:58,730 And and like you said, Robert, it you 628 00:24:58,730 --> 00:25:00,170 you wouldn't see this in a lot of 629 00:25:00,170 --> 00:25:02,349 major metropolitan homicide units. 630 00:25:02,734 --> 00:25:05,875 So, yeah, it's, I I'm most impressed with 631 00:25:06,255 --> 00:25:07,955 also the quality of the people. 632 00:25:08,894 --> 00:25:09,634 You know, 633 00:25:10,095 --> 00:25:11,875 when you have a small sheriff's department, 634 00:25:12,734 --> 00:25:14,654 the leadership starts at the top of the 635 00:25:14,654 --> 00:25:15,154 sheriff. 636 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:16,700 And Kyle, 637 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:18,299 you know, he is just, 638 00:25:18,599 --> 00:25:21,099 obviously, just a a a great human being, 639 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:23,640 a man of integrity, and all of his 640 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:24,140 officers, 641 00:25:24,839 --> 00:25:26,380 you know, follow that model. 642 00:25:27,079 --> 00:25:29,079 You know, whether it's Luke or it's Jeff 643 00:25:29,079 --> 00:25:31,484 or it's Shane, you know, these are just 644 00:25:31,865 --> 00:25:32,684 great respectable 645 00:25:33,144 --> 00:25:33,644 police 646 00:25:34,265 --> 00:25:35,644 officers out doing their job, 647 00:25:36,424 --> 00:25:37,565 tireless workers. 648 00:25:38,744 --> 00:25:40,904 The sacrifices they've made in this thing are 649 00:25:41,065 --> 00:25:43,460 you know, if if the public knew all 650 00:25:43,460 --> 00:25:46,840 the the personal sacrifices these investigators made, 651 00:25:47,220 --> 00:25:49,460 they probably wouldn't believe it because they've missed 652 00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:51,799 holidays, they've missed birthdays with their kids, 653 00:25:52,180 --> 00:25:53,320 you know, all the things 654 00:25:53,700 --> 00:25:55,160 that deaf investigators, 655 00:25:55,539 --> 00:25:58,404 homicide detectives, you know, experienced in the course 656 00:25:58,404 --> 00:25:59,625 of their career. So, 657 00:26:00,164 --> 00:26:02,565 I would echo what you what you see 658 00:26:02,565 --> 00:26:04,004 is that, this was, 659 00:26:04,484 --> 00:26:06,724 this certainly was no stone left unturned in 660 00:26:06,724 --> 00:26:09,419 this thing. And, I'm confident they're they're gonna 661 00:26:09,419 --> 00:26:10,720 solve this case because 662 00:26:11,019 --> 00:26:13,339 of the quality of the investigators that they 663 00:26:13,339 --> 00:26:14,000 have working. 664 00:26:15,980 --> 00:26:18,079 But even the most dogged investigation 665 00:26:18,380 --> 00:26:20,859 can hit a wall when there's no forensic 666 00:26:20,859 --> 00:26:24,079 evidence, no witnesses, and no clear motive. 667 00:26:24,835 --> 00:26:26,755 That's where the $1,000,000 668 00:26:26,755 --> 00:26:27,894 reward comes in, 669 00:26:28,194 --> 00:26:30,534 designed to pry open locked lips. 670 00:26:31,234 --> 00:26:33,634 The money is there to make silence expensive 671 00:26:33,634 --> 00:26:35,414 and speaking up worth it. 672 00:26:36,034 --> 00:26:38,194 Joe Kennedy says $1,000,000 673 00:26:38,194 --> 00:26:40,970 is a big incentive to nudge someone on 674 00:26:40,970 --> 00:26:42,269 the fringes of the murder 675 00:26:42,650 --> 00:26:43,710 to step forward. 676 00:26:46,250 --> 00:26:46,750 Well, 677 00:26:47,529 --> 00:26:50,109 your experienced perpetrators don't keep secrets. 678 00:26:50,970 --> 00:26:52,910 Yeah. They always tell someone, Robert, 679 00:26:53,690 --> 00:26:54,910 in the vast majority 680 00:26:55,289 --> 00:26:55,869 of successfully 681 00:26:56,625 --> 00:26:57,125 closed 682 00:26:57,424 --> 00:26:57,924 cold 683 00:26:59,184 --> 00:27:01,445 cases, the suspect, for any number of reasons, 684 00:27:02,065 --> 00:27:03,765 told someone they did it. 685 00:27:04,065 --> 00:27:06,484 It's that first sign of their 686 00:27:07,184 --> 00:27:09,585 attempts to cope with what they've done. It's 687 00:27:09,585 --> 00:27:11,820 a coping mechanism. They gotta get it off 688 00:27:11,820 --> 00:27:13,259 the chest. They gotta get it off their 689 00:27:13,259 --> 00:27:15,420 minds. And so they tell someone that they 690 00:27:15,420 --> 00:27:17,740 did it. And so that's my hope that 691 00:27:17,740 --> 00:27:19,680 that reward could maybe, 692 00:27:20,539 --> 00:27:22,400 encourage someone to come forward 693 00:27:22,940 --> 00:27:24,299 that has been told something, 694 00:27:25,214 --> 00:27:27,214 because we know that that is one of 695 00:27:27,214 --> 00:27:29,615 the investigative steps that has to always be 696 00:27:29,615 --> 00:27:30,914 followed with cold cases. 697 00:27:31,615 --> 00:27:33,234 Find who they told 698 00:27:34,894 --> 00:27:37,375 what they know about that. Find the person 699 00:27:37,375 --> 00:27:38,194 that they told 700 00:27:38,815 --> 00:27:40,630 that they were involved in the murder change 701 00:27:40,630 --> 00:27:41,130 crimes. 702 00:27:41,829 --> 00:27:44,630 For the team pursuing Jim Grimes' killer, the 703 00:27:44,630 --> 00:27:46,170 calendar doesn't matter. 704 00:27:46,630 --> 00:27:48,570 Four years in, their determination 705 00:27:49,029 --> 00:27:50,009 hasn't wavered. 706 00:27:50,789 --> 00:27:53,509 This case isn't just another file. It's a 707 00:27:53,509 --> 00:27:54,009 promise, 708 00:27:54,634 --> 00:27:56,015 and they're not letting go. 709 00:27:56,555 --> 00:27:59,115 Lieutenant Shane Hunter says he goes to bed 710 00:27:59,115 --> 00:28:01,275 thinking about the case, and he wakes up 711 00:28:01,275 --> 00:28:02,255 asking himself, 712 00:28:02,715 --> 00:28:04,795 what else can I do? What did I 713 00:28:04,795 --> 00:28:07,275 miss? What can I do today to move 714 00:28:07,275 --> 00:28:08,414 this case forward? 715 00:28:09,980 --> 00:28:12,220 I would think for the killer knowing how 716 00:28:12,220 --> 00:28:12,720 hard 717 00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:15,500 the detectives on this case are working, and 718 00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:17,659 then like a Joe Kennedy coming to the 719 00:28:17,659 --> 00:28:19,339 table, they ought to be a little bit 720 00:28:19,339 --> 00:28:21,980 worried. They know that that one day that 721 00:28:21,980 --> 00:28:23,554 we'll knock on their door, door and, ultimately, 722 00:28:23,774 --> 00:28:25,394 they'll be arrested for this. 723 00:28:26,335 --> 00:28:28,014 I don't think this is just the perfect 724 00:28:28,014 --> 00:28:30,734 crime that somebody's gonna walk scot free for. 725 00:28:30,974 --> 00:28:33,154 We're not gonna let it happen like that. 726 00:28:33,454 --> 00:28:35,694 There's too many people that are dedicated in 727 00:28:35,694 --> 00:28:37,394 getting this solved, and and, ultimately, 728 00:28:37,694 --> 00:28:39,420 justice will be served. 729 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,839 Dawn Grimes refuses to let her husband's murder 730 00:28:44,839 --> 00:28:46,059 fade into memory. 731 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,380 She's keeping the case alive, 732 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:50,140 loud, visible, 733 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,539 and impossible to ignore. 734 00:28:53,244 --> 00:28:55,244 In the latest show of her resolve, a 735 00:28:55,244 --> 00:28:58,924 new billboard now towers above the long black 736 00:28:58,924 --> 00:29:00,765 banner that runs the length of the fence 737 00:29:00,765 --> 00:29:01,984 in front of her home. 738 00:29:02,365 --> 00:29:04,544 The words on the banner remain unchanged. 739 00:29:05,419 --> 00:29:06,960 We will never forget. 740 00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:09,359 We will never give up. 741 00:29:09,980 --> 00:29:12,079 But now, above that message, 742 00:29:12,539 --> 00:29:15,119 a second one rises higher and louder. 743 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:18,825 A billboard featuring Jim Grimes' photo and a 744 00:29:18,825 --> 00:29:21,325 direct plea for help in bold letters. 745 00:29:22,105 --> 00:29:27,005 I was murdered here on 04/19/2021. 746 00:29:27,544 --> 00:29:30,125 Help me get justice, it reads, 747 00:29:30,505 --> 00:29:33,144 alongside the offer of a $1,000,000 748 00:29:33,144 --> 00:29:36,519 reward for information leading to an arrest and 749 00:29:36,519 --> 00:29:37,019 conviction. 750 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,059 The sign's message is unflinching. 751 00:29:40,919 --> 00:29:42,859 So is the family behind it. 752 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:44,299 Every day, 753 00:29:45,079 --> 00:29:47,534 you wake up and you live with this 754 00:29:47,534 --> 00:29:49,154 every day not knowing 755 00:29:49,615 --> 00:29:51,694 are they gonna come after me? Are they 756 00:29:51,694 --> 00:29:54,274 gonna come after my children, my grandchildren? 757 00:29:55,534 --> 00:29:56,835 Are they gonna come after 758 00:29:57,454 --> 00:29:59,375 somebody else in the community? If they've done 759 00:29:59,375 --> 00:30:01,315 this once, are they gonna do it again? 760 00:30:01,759 --> 00:30:03,619 You know, that that's very 761 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:05,140 unnerving 762 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:07,360 to know that they're still out there every 763 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:08,180 day, and 764 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,240 it's the right thing to do. You just 765 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:12,720 you don't do something like this to another 766 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:13,619 human being. 767 00:30:14,025 --> 00:30:14,525 So 768 00:30:16,744 --> 00:30:17,244 please 769 00:30:19,465 --> 00:30:19,965 help 770 00:30:22,184 --> 00:30:22,684 us. 771 00:30:24,904 --> 00:30:27,384 This is among the most puzzling cases that 772 00:30:27,384 --> 00:30:28,605 I have ever covered. 773 00:30:29,190 --> 00:30:30,630 But I can tell you this from my 774 00:30:30,630 --> 00:30:31,769 reporting experience, 775 00:30:32,710 --> 00:30:34,490 someone besides the killer 776 00:30:34,869 --> 00:30:37,049 knows who murdered Jim Grimes. 777 00:30:38,149 --> 00:30:40,569 The reward remains at $1,000,000 778 00:30:40,869 --> 00:30:43,509 for information leading to the arrest and conviction 779 00:30:43,509 --> 00:30:45,335 of the person or persons 780 00:30:45,954 --> 00:30:47,974 responsible for killing Jim Grimes. 781 00:30:48,755 --> 00:30:49,734 If you know something, 782 00:30:50,115 --> 00:30:52,615 now is the time to come forward. Call 783 00:30:52,994 --> 00:30:54,054 (931) 784 00:30:54,194 --> 00:30:56,275 638-2358 785 00:30:56,275 --> 00:30:56,775 or 786 00:30:57,220 --> 00:30:57,799 800 787 00:31:00,819 --> 00:31:03,319 to begin the process of claiming the reward. 788 00:31:04,339 --> 00:31:06,339 And if fear is holding you back, know 789 00:31:06,339 --> 00:31:06,839 this, 790 00:31:07,220 --> 00:31:09,940 investigators have pledged to protect your identity and 791 00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:10,759 your safety. 792 00:31:11,555 --> 00:31:14,194 You'll find both numbers listed in the show 793 00:31:14,194 --> 00:31:14,694 notes. 794 00:31:15,634 --> 00:31:17,974 This is Robert Riggs reporting 795 00:31:18,355 --> 00:31:20,454 for the True Crime Reporter podcast.