At 86 years old, Linnie Mae Ward still had a lot of life left in her, according to Donald Ward, who spoke on behalf of the Ward family Thursday in Brunswick County Superior Court.
Linnie Ward died Nov. 12, 2012, when she was strangled in the Longwood home where she lived for 63 years.
Richard Hugh Grissett, 54, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a Brunswick County jury on Thursday convicted Grissett of first-degree murder in Ward’s death.
“In actuality, she was still going strong. She had a strong heart,” Donald Ward added. “She raised a garden every year. She would have had a garden the next year, and I think for many more years. She was a go-getter.”
Read related story: Brunswick man convicted of first-degree murder in elderly woman’s death
“We struggled some at first trying to avoid hating the person who did this crime. And I can say after speaking to my wife…we don’t hold any unforgiveness in our hearts for Mr. Grissett,” Donald Ward said.
“Our family has suffered a great loss for which I don’t have words to express the deep hurt that it’s caused. It’s taken us a long time…for us to live and remember Grandma for all the good times that we’ve had. She had a lot life…and that was taken away from us.
“I miss all the things. She called the house five times a day…we would love to hear from her right now,” Donald Ward said.
Assistant District Attorney Lee Bollinger praised the efforts of the detectives in this case.
“I can’t say enough about those folks…they’ll run sometimes days at a time with little or no sleep,” Bollinger said. “They took the clues that they had at the scene. The fact that a rifle was missing, the fact that they had a necklace located beneath the victim’s body, and they began to run those things down…very good police work and following up on and proving who the necklace belonged to [and] recovering the rifle that was thrown into the pond there beside the defendant’s house.”
Bollinger saved the final piece of evidence–Grissett’s video confession–for the end of the state’s case.
“I like to be able to prove my case without the confession,” Bollinger said. “With all the other evidence in the case…by the time [the jury] hears the confession, it just reaffirms what they already know the evidence to be. I wanted the jury nodding and agreeing with the fact that he committed the crime before hearing [the confession].”
In addition to the charge of first-degree murder, Grissett was also convicted of first-degree burglary, common law robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Grissett was sentenced to 128-166 months for the conviction of first-degree burglary and 25-39 months for the possession of a firearm by a felon conviction, which will run consecutively to his life sentence.
“All of this is somewhat hypothetical given that life means life in North Carolina. It’s a harsh yet appropriate sentence for a man that would brutally beat and murder an 86-year-old woman in the sanctity of her own home,” District Attorney Jon David said.
“At 86 years old, Linnie Mae Ward should have been at the most peaceful time of her life, I want to emphasize today that this isn’t just about getting justice for Richard Hugh Grissett, but it’s about getting justice for Miss Linnie as well,” David said.
Christina Haley is a crime and courts reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at (910) 772-6337 or [email protected].
