Accused Killer Teen Says Victim Was Racist

July 25, 2001 -- Four Colorado teenagers facing charges in the killings of another boy and his grandparents carried out the alleged triple murder because they believed the young victim's grandfather was a racist, prosecutors said.

Isaac Grimes, 16, told police he agreed to kill 15-year-old Tony Dutcher and his grandparents because he was on "probation" in a group organized by 19-year-old Simon Sue, and that was the only way he could get back in good standing with the others.

He was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, but was granted a postponement because his new lawyer asked for more time to review the case.

According to the account Grimes allegedly gave police, he was a member of something called OARA, which Sue told him was a paramilitary group with ties to the government of Guyana, where Sue's family was from.

The members of the group were supposed to be good citizens, shunning alcohol, drugs and racism.

According to prosecutors, Grimes said that on New Year's Eve he went to the Dutchers' home in Guffey, Colo., to camp out with Tony, who was a classmate of his at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs. Another member of the group, Jonathan Matheny, 17, drove Grimes to the Dutchers' home and dropped him off, promising to come back late that night to help kill the grandparents, according to Grimes, prosecutors said.

Shortly after the two teenagers went off to a homemade lean-to about 200 yards from the Dutcher home, Grimes got behind the other boy and slashed his throat, according to the account.

"His throat had been slashed clear to the spinal column and he bled to death," Park County District Attorney's investigator Leonard Post said.

Shots Through a Door

Grimes said Tony Dutcher's grandparents, Carl and Joanna, didn't think anything was wrong when he came back to the house at around midnight, because the boys would often come back after spending just a few hours camping in the cold.

At around 4 a.m., after Carl and Joanna Dutcher had gone to bed, Matheny returned and Grimes let him in. Carl Dutcher apparently heard the noise and got up, and when he came out into the hallway Matheny shot him twice, according to Grimes' account.

Joanna fled to the bathroom, but Matheny fired through the door six times, hitting her in the chest and head, Grimes said, according to prosecutors.

The two then returned to Colorado Springs with two weapons they had stolen from the Dutchers, and burned their clothing, a backpack and other things that had been covered with blood in the incident, according to the teenager's account.

According to prosecutors, Matheny and Sue took the weapons used in the killings to the home of the fourth member of the group, Glen Urban, 18, and he cut them up. Sue later showed investigators where he and Matheny hid the weapons.

On Monday, Matheny was bound over for trial scheduled for Dec. 3. He is accused of supplying the alleged murder weapons and shooting two of the victims.

Victim of Brainwashing?

Grimes made his statement when he tentatively agreed to a plea bargain in the case when still receiving counsel from his first lawyer. His new attorney, J.B. Katz said she is not sure they will go ahead with the plea bargain.

His family has turned to Rev. Promise Lee to offer spiritual guidance to the teenager. Lee, who has visited Grimes in jail, said the boy only committed the crimes because he was brainwashed by what he described as a satanic cult.

"Isaac Grimes has been a victim of brainwash and mind control, and that's very, very clear," Lee said.

Grimes is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 28. No dates have been set for the arraignments of Sue and Urban.

ABCNEWS affiliate KMGH contributed to this report.