Tara Grant Fought Before She Died, Examiner Says

Mar 05, 06:20 PM

Current Headlines: By Christy Arboscello, Detroit Free Press

Mar. 5--Tara Lynn Grant, 34, fought for her life before she was strangled, Macomb County Medical Examiner Dr. Daniel Spitz said at a news conference today.

"Tara Lynn's body does show signs of an altercation and a struggle that took place between her and her assailant," he said.

When discussing the strangulation, he described it as "an intimate act" that takes "a period of several minutes."

Besides neck bruises, Grant had blunt-force head and face injuries.

Her husband, Stephen Grant, confessed Sunday night to killing and dismembering her, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel today.

DNA testing in a Michigan State Police crime lab in Northville will include collecting samples from under her fingernails and ensuring that all the remains found are hers. It's unclear when those results will be in.

Spitz said Tara Grant died around Feb. 9 -- when she was last seen -- and that her body parts were kept in a cold environment. Those conditions helped preserve them and, consequently, helped determine the cause of her death, he said.

Police recovered her torso Friday evening in the garage of the Washington Township home she shared with her husband. Most of the other remains were found in a wooded field near Stony Creek on Saturday and Sunday.

Animal activity on some of the discovered remains didn't hinder the exam. There are other remains that haven't been found, but they were not needed for the autopsy.

The couple's two children, ages 4 and 6, were sleeping in the home at the time Grant was believed to have been killed.

When asked whether they may have heard the struggle, Spitz said, "I imagine they would anticipate something was going on."

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