‘Who’s going to help my family?’: Richmond woman still hoping for answers nearly 50 years after brother’s murder

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The family of Christopher Harper, a Richmond toddler killed over 50 years ago, is still waiting for answers after the man wrongfully convicted of his abduction and murder was recently exonerated.

Three-year-old Harper disappeared in November of 1975. Days later, his body was found face-up in the James River, with his arms folded over his chest.

Harper’s sister, Sarah Martin, told 8News that their mother was seven months pregnant with her at the time Harper was killed.

“I always knew we had a brother — we didn’t know what happened to him, [but] there were pictures of him in the house,” Martin said.

His tragic death left a long-lasting impact on her and her family’s lives by heightening their sense of security.

His tragic death left a long-lasting impact on her and her family’s lives.

“I question everybody in my mind — everybody,” Martin said. “From people my mom and dad grew up around — their siblings. And it’s hard. It’s not an easy thing, to look at somebody and think, ‘Could you have done it?'”

For decades these questions loomed over Martin’s family — and, for decades, a Richmond man by the name of Marvin Grimm spent time behind bars for a crime he was later proven innocent of .

Police identified Grimm as the primary suspect early on in their investigation and pursued his conviction based on forensic evidence, including hair in his coat, a stained towel and swabs taken from Harper’s throat and mouth. Grim later pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.

For years, Grimm’s legal team worked to prove his innocence while Martin’s family were forced to continue their lives without Harper, thinking the right person was behind bars.

Following years of DNA testing, a judge granted Grimm a writ of actual innocence in June, exonerating him and clearing his name.

“It was a major blow, because now my siblings and my mom — we have no idea [who killed Christopher,]” Martin said of learning of Grimm’s innocence. “We don’t think we’re ever going to get an answer as to who or why.”

While this decision was a victory for Grimm, his family and his legal team, the ruling also reopened emotional wounds for Martin’s family who are now wondering if the right person will ever be behind bars.

“They just left us hanging — and I mean the whole state of Virginia just left us hanging. Everybody,” Martin said. “Who’s going to help my family? [Who is] my brother’s killer — that’s what I want to know.”

8News contacted the Richmond Police Department to learn if detectives have reopened this case and we did not hear back before the publication of this article.

“I already have a feeling I’m going to be told that there’s nothing they can do because of the time [that’s passed,]” Martin said. “But I would like to think that I can push this forward and make more people aware that, just because they are saying it’s an unsolved crime, you can still put that name out there, still put something [out there,] because somebody knows something.”

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