Final two cases for Grunwald murder trial delayed again

PALMER — Erick Almandinger and Bradley Renfro’s sentence hearings were pushed during their telephonic hearings with Palmer Judge Gregory Heath residing Aug. 18.

Almandinger and Renfro were charged and convicted with Austin Barrett, Dominic Johnson for the murder of Palmer teen David Grunwald in November of 2016. Johnson received a 99-year sentence in May. Barrett was sentenced to 45 years in November of 2020. All four were teens and tried as adults.

Grunwald’s parents, Edie and Ben Grunwald, have consistently cycled through the courthouse and attended telephonic hearings for the last five years, still waiting for the final two sentences to be delivered.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” Edie said.

Both Almandinger and Renfro’s sentences have been delayed several times due to matters involving psychological evaluations and expert witnesses, which were further exasperated by the pandemic, particularly during the initial shut down period.

The next court dates have not been set for either Almandinger or Renfro. Edie said that Heath asked both their attorneys to stay in contact with the District Attorney’s office and bring updated reports within 30 days.

“It’s kind of interesting because when everything was happening on a regular basis it seemed like we were kind of in that mode and just going through it and we were ready. But as it gets longer and more stretched out, we’re tending to be more stressed out. It just stretched this whole grieving process out. I mean, it’s gonna be forever anyway but given that we don’t have any semi-closure because you know the appeals are gonna start flying next but we’ve got to get through this process first… It’s just hard,” Edie said.

Judge Heath is retired but retained the Grunwald murder case to see it through to the end. Edie noted that prosecuting attorney for the case, Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak retired in July and she thinks Palmer Assistant District Attorney Melissa Wininger-Howard is handling the case well. She’s just wondering how much longer it will take before they can move on to the next phase.

“The crime hasn’t changed the convictions haven’t changed… Now that the district attorney is retired, who’s to know what else might be changing. In the meantime, we have to stay positive about it and stay engaged and keep this on everybody’s radar, not to forget about this, and really truly not let this slip through the cracks. It’s just really unacceptable… It just doesn’t seem right, whether it’s my case or not,” Edie said.

The Justice for David Grunwald Facebook page currently has over 13,000 followers. Edie said the continuous outpour of support from community members across the state and beyond is very encouraging.

She said that she regularly visits her son’s grave and really enjoys seeing all the different tributes people leave throughout the year. She said that it’s a challenge to stay positive, but pleasant distractions like their new puppy help. She said it’s been over 12 years since they last had a dog.

“He keeps me on my toes,” Edie said with a laugh.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com