If you followed my work when I was at Court TV you may recall the case of Tara Lynn Grant, a Michigan mother of two who was murdered and dismembered by her husband, Stephen Grant, in Feb. 2007. Unfortunately, the tragedy surrounding this case did not end there and now may have played a role in the death of Stephen Grant's father.
For those of you not familiar with the case, I'll recap some of the major events.
Stephen Grant reported his wife missing on Feb. 14, 2007. Grant told police that he had an argument with his wife five days prior and that she had walked out of the house and got into a dark sedan and they drove off.
"It's very suspect," Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackell said in a Feb. 2007 interview with FOXNews.com. "There are a lot of questions still unanswered. No one has seen or heard from her since her husband last saw her ... Nobody seems to know where she's at."
Tara's sister, Alicia Standerfer, agreed. When I interviewed her for Crime Library in Feb. 2007, she said she had been going over every scenario in her head but was desperately trying to "keep the bad and ugly" out of her brain.
In the days that followed, The Detroit News published a partial transcript of e-mails Grant had allegedly exchanged with an ex-girlfriend prior to his wife's disappearance. Within the e-mails, Grant made several sexual innuendos and in one particular message he boldly wrote:
"I just think of marriage vows like speed limits. Sometimes you have to break them, and sometimes you get caught. You just need to keep an eye on the road to avoid detection."
Not long after the e-mails were released, Grant agreed to an interview with The Detroit News. During the interview, Grant said his wife had been angry with him because he told her he wanted a divorce.
"Before she left, the last words she said to me were, 'Don't forget to take my truck in on Monday' (for repairs)," he said. "That really took the wind out of my sails. She was telling me that's all I was; it was like, 'You be the valet,' and take my car in."
Grant maintained his innocence but acknowledged that he understood why some people might think he had something to do with his wife's disappearance.
"That's what I would think when I watched cases like this," he said. "When Laci Peterson came up missing (in 2002), I was sure her husband (Scott) did it. But now I'm on the other side of it. I know people think I had something to do with why Tara is missing, but I didn't do it."
The investigation continued and on March 2, 2007, investigators from the Michigan State Police Crime Lab and the Macomb County Sheriff's Department conducted a search of Grant's home. Shortly after the search began investigators were shocked to discover Tara's torso in Grant's garage.
Unfortunately, Grant, aware the search was in progress had already fled the area. While patrol units searched for Grant, a team of investigators searched Stony Creek Metropark, where they found more of Tara's dismembered body parts. As the discoveries continued, investigators were informed that Grant had been making several phone calls, which they were able to trace to Wilderness State Park in Emmet County. The dragnet expanded and the Emmet County Sheriff's Department was able to locate Grant's abandoned vehicle near the state park.
Throughout the night and into the next morning, the Emmet County Sheriff's Department, the FBI, the Michigan State Police, the Mackinaw County Police, and the United States Coast Guard conducted a thorough search of the area. When daylight broke searchers spotted footprints in a heavenly wooded area, which they were able to follow to Grant's location. Suffering from exposure to the elements, Grant was in no condition to resist and was taken into custody without incident.
While recovering in the hospital, Grant spoke openly with investigators and confessed to murdering and dismembering his wife. Grant said the couple had been arguing about Tara's job on the night of Feb. 9, 2007. The argument, according to Grant, quickly spiraled out of control. Grant's written confession read in part:
"I wanted to say the meanest thing I could think of. My statement resulted in Tara smacking me. I then pushed her making her fall back against the wall or wood floor."
"Because she fell she started cussing at me telling me she would take the kids and house and I was going to jail and I would become the loser I always was. I then grabbed her neck to make her stop talking; instead I found myself squeezing and choking her with my right hand."
"Once she was dead I started to panic. I had to get her out of the house and couldn't carry her."
"So I grabbed a belt and wrapped it around her neck to pull her downstairs. When I got to the truck by trying to pick her up with the belt, it broke causing her to fall back. When her head hit it sounded hollow."
"On Sunday 11th I took Tara's Trooper [truck] to the shop and had decided to fit her into a large Rubbermaid container. I took the container and Tara's body out of the truck and pulled back out of the shop."
"Her body was stiff and in a weird position, so I ended up cutting off everything. I wrapped the pieces in plastic bags and put them, the torso, and all supplies back it the container. It all fit."
"Monday morning I found a spot near Stoney Creek Nature Area power lines and hid the evidence. I came back and later distributed the body parts."
"On Saturday 24th I went out very early to recover the torso because I did not hide it as well. I took it to my shop and left it there until March 1 at night. I got it and planned on reburying it, but my house was searched on March 2nd."
Following Grant's confession, Grant was charged with count one homicide, murder in the first degree and count two mutilation of a dead body.
On Dec. 21, 2007, Stephen Grant was found guilty of murder in the second degree. As a result, Grant was sentenced to 50-80 years in prison. He will be nearly 90-years-old before he is eligible for parole.
In the aftermath, Tara's sister was granted custody of the two Grant children. According to Alicia, the children were awake on the night of the murder and witnessed their father killing their mother.
Unfortunately, Tara Grant was not to be the only victim of Stephen Grant. In addition to the turmoil and horrific memories her children have to live with, the case also had a deep impact on Stephen Grant's family, specifically his father, 66-year-old William "Al" Grant
On the afternoon of June 13, Al called 911 and said he wanted to report a suicide. When the dispatcher asked him whose suicide he was reporting, Grant allegedly said it was his own.
"Our deputy pulled up to the house and was starting to check out the location when he heard a single gunshot," Lt. Jim Terpenning of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office told Detnews.com.
The deputy conducted a search of the premises, during which time he found Al's body inside a nearby garage. Al was still alive but he died shortly after arrival at a local hospital.
The medical examiner's office is still investigating but they say all of the evidence in the case points to suicide.
According family friends, Al had a difficult time coping with his son's atrocious crimes, something many believe played a role in his suicide.
"It's a shame," Al's friend, Bryan Buero, told Detnews.com. "He was a good man."