After more than four decades of mystery, authorities have named two persons of interest in the 1983 murder of 20-year-old Maritza Glean Grimmett. Her ex-husband, Howard Grimmett, and his current wife, Isabel “Terry” Cruz-Grimmett, were identified as key figures in the ongoing investigation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced Thursday.
Maritza’s remains were first discovered in April 1983 in what is now Lake Forest, California. However, her identity remained unknown for 41 years, with investigators referring to her only as “Jane Doe.” It wasn’t until March 2024 that advanced forensic technology and social media efforts helped identify her.
The breakthrough came in late 2023 when authorities tracked down a distant relative, who then suggested sharing Maritza’s forensic rendering in a Facebook group dedicated to finding missing persons from the 1970s and 1980s. A month later, a woman recognized the images as her missing mother.
Maritza, a Panamanian native, had married Howard Grimmett, a U.S. Marine, in 1978, and the couple had a daughter, Dawn Hamill. After moving to the U.S., they lived in Ohio and Tennessee before separating the following year. Howard soon remarried and relocated to California, while Maritza remained in Tennessee.
Before her disappearance, Maritza told her sister she was traveling to California. That was the last her family ever heard from her. Investigators are now focused on how and when she arrived in California, as her remains were found just three miles from the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, where Howard was stationed.
Lead investigator Bob Taft noted that Howard and Terry have been cooperating and were interviewed in September 2024. Howard denied any involvement in Maritza’s death.
Authorities are now seeking former military personnel who may have seen Maritza at El Toro Marine base between late 1979 and April 1983. Anyone with information is urged to contact the cold case homicide team at (714) 647-7055 or [email protected]. Anonymous tips can be submitted via OC Crime Stoppers at (855) 847-6227 or occrimestoppers.org.
