What happened to Desiree Sunford? Details about Dateline on NBC subject explored
Desiree Sunford, a 30-year-old middle school teacher, was shot to death at her residence in Yakima, Washington. Her lifeless body was discovered on April 7, 2013, after her husband contacted Moxee police to request a regular check.
The new episode of NBC's Dateline explores the murder of Desiree Sunford and the investigation that uncovered the true culprit. Titled Deadly Entanglement, the episode was released on March 14, 2025.
The official synopsis of the episode reads:
"A middle school art teacher is shot to death in the home she shared with her husband; new evidence and testimonies poke holes in the story of a harmonious three-way affair between the couple and a mutual friend."
What happened to Desiree Sunford?
As reported by Yakima Herald Republic on November 17, 2014, Desiree Sunford was a middle school teacher living with her husband, Scott, in Yakima, Washington. On April 2, 2013, the couple encountered an attempted break-in at their residence.
Following the incident, they installed a house security system but connected the alarm to their phones instead of the police. Shortly after, Scott left the residence to attend a funeral in Warnden, in Grant County.
On April 7, 2013, Scott received an alarm at midnight but didn't pay much attention to it. However, he later contacted the Moxee police to check on their residence. When authorities arrived at the house on North St. Hilaire Road, they found the body of Desiree Sunford shot to death.
Investigation on the murder of Desiree Sunford
According to the same publication, investigators received major intel from Crime Stoppers, leading them to a 23-year-old woman named Paige Blades. As per TV Regular, Paige used to live with Desiree and Scott. She reportedly shared an intimate live-in relationship with both of them.
As reported by Yakima Herald Republic, Paige revealed to investigators that she became pregnant by Scott Sunford. She shared this information with one of her friends, Marty Dean Grismer. She expressed to Grismer the problems she could face if Desiree found out about this.
As reported by Kima TV on November 14, 2014, police found another major concrete evidence against him. A former worker of Grismer called the police, revealing that he found gun parts in his office. The 9 mm pistol barrel matched the bullets that were found at the crime scene.
After a year of thorough investigation, Marty Grismer was arrested. As per an NBC Right Now article published on December 28, 2017, he was charged with the second-degree murder of Desiree Sunford. He was sentenced to spend 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $14,000 in compensation.
Check out our other articles to know more details about other cases on Dateline.
