Marty Grismer, convicted in the 2013 murder of Wapato middle school art teacher Desiree Sunford, remains in prison in Washington State. The case first drew national attention after a love‑triangle twist and a delayed arrest, and has resurfaced now with the release of the Dateline NBC episode 'Deadly Entanglement'.
Grismer was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the second‑degree murder of Desiree Sunford on January 8, 2018. Under an Alford plea, he maintained his innocence but acknowledged that the state had enough evidence to secure a conviction. A report in The Cinemaholic, written by journalist Jules Tan, noted that Grismer’s sentence placed him at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
An update on the case, recapped by NBC, confirmed that Grismer is currently serving out his sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary. The information appeared in the show’s background summary posted on NBC’s Dateline page. He was originally charged with first‑degree murder, but prosecutors dropped that charge as part of a plea deal.
What happened in the Sunford case?
In 2013, 30‑year‑old Desiree Sunford was found shot to death in the home she shared with her husband, Scott Sunford, in Yakima County, Washington. For a time, investigators treated the scene like a burglary gone wrong, but the case stalled until an anonymous tip in July 2014 named Grismer as a suspect.
{{/usCountry}}In 2013, 30‑year‑old Desiree Sunford was found shot to death in the home she shared with her husband, Scott Sunford, in Yakima County, Washington. For a time, investigators treated the scene like a burglary gone wrong, but the case stalled until an anonymous tip in July 2014 named Grismer as a suspect.
{{/usCountry}}A Dateline episode titled ‘Deadly Entanglement,’ written and reported by Blayne Alexander, explores how Grismer’s connection to Desiree, her husband, and a mutual friend, Paige Blades, turned into a fatal triangle.
The episode description added that “new evidence and testimonies poke holes in the story of a harmonious three‑way affair.” The show also stressed that Grismer’s conviction came after a long investigation and multiple legal delays.
Fan and public reactions
Since the Dateline episode, the viewers have posted on platforms like Reddit and X. One viewer on a r/TrueCrimeDiscussion thread wrote “Seeing how this case sat unsolved for so long and then blew up with the love‑triangle angle is chilling.” Another on X posted, “The way Marty’s story ties into everywhere from local Yakima news up through Dateline is wild."
Currently, Marty Grismer remains incarcerated at Washington State Penitentiary, serving his 15‑year sentence for the murder of Desiree Sunford.
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