After more than four decades of mystery, there’s finally a breakthrough in the cold case of Maritza Glean Grimmett’s murder. Two key people of interest have just been named in the investigation, bringing new hope for long-awaited answers.
Maritza was only 20 years old when she was killed in the early 1980s, but for nearly 41 years, no one even knew her name. She was known only as “Jane Doe” until March 2024, when her remains were officially identified. Now, on Thursday, Feb. 20, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced that Maritza’s ex-husband, Howard Grimmett, and his current wife, Isabel “Terry” Cruz-Grimmett, are being investigated in connection with the case.
The tragic story began in April 1983 when Maritza’s remains were found in Lake Forest, California. For years, law enforcement worked with forensic experts and federal partners, trying to put a name to the face in their case files. The breakthrough finally came in November 2023 when investigators tracked down a distant relative, who suggested sharing Maritza’s forensic rendering in a Facebook group dedicated to identifying missing people from the ’70s and ’80s.
That post led to a life-changing response. In December 2023, a woman reached out, believing the rendering looked like her long-lost mother. By March 2024, DNA testing confirmed it—Maritza Glean Grimmett had finally been found.
Originally from Panama, Maritza married Howard Grimmett, a U.S. Marine, in 1978. The couple had a daughter named Dawn and soon moved to the United States, living in Columbus, Ohio, and Millington, Tennessee. Their marriage was short-lived, and the pair began divorce proceedings the following year. Howard quickly remarried his current wife, Terry, and the two relocated to California, where Howard was stationed at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Maritza stayed in Tennessee—but not for long.
Before she disappeared, Maritza told her sister she was heading to California. That was the last time anyone in her family ever heard from her.
Maritza’s remains were discovered just three miles from the El Toro Marine base, where Howard was stationed at the time. But one big question still looms: How did Maritza end up in California? Investigators are still working to connect the dots, hoping to figure out when and how she arrived.
Howard and Terry Grimmett have reportedly been cooperating with the investigation and were interviewed in September 2024. Howard has denied any involvement in Maritza’s death.
Authorities are now reaching out to former military members who may have been stationed at El Toro between late 1979 and April 1983. Anyone who may have seen or interacted with Maritza during that time could hold the key to solving this decades-old mystery.
