- Nannette Wride-Zeeman, widow of slain Sgt. Cory Wride, forgives Meagan Grunwald, calling her a "friend" after meeting.
- Wride-Zeeman hopes to maintain contact with Grunwald after her potential parole.
- Grunwald's murder conviction was overturned; she accepted lesser charges and awaits parole.
SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly six years ago, when Meagan Dakota Grunwald's murder conviction was overturned by the Utah Supreme Court, the widow of Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Cory Wride said she felt "betrayed" and "numb."
But on Tuesday, Nannette Wride-Zeeman called Grunwald her "friend" and hopes to stay in contact with Grunwald once she is released from prison. Outside Grunwald's parole hearing at the Utah State Prison, Wride-Zeeman told KSL.com she has "100% forgiven" Grunwald, and is at peace knowing she'll never have to attend another parole hearing.
"It's my last parole hearing. I'm never coming back," she said.
The amazing transformation comes on the heels of a face-to-face meeting Wride-Zeeman had with Grunwald Monday at the prison. It was the first time she had ever met Grunwald. The two talked for about three hours.
"I had questions about that day answered that have tortured me for 12 years. I wanted to know what she was like and what she was thinking. And I wanted her to know Cory. And she got a good taste of who Cory was from the moment I met him to the moment I didn't have him anymore," Wride-Zeeman said.
On Jan. 30, 2014, Sgt. Cory Wride had stopped to check on a vehicle pulled off to the side of the road in Eagle Mountain during a snowstorm. Grunwald, then 17, was driving and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Jose Angel Garcia-Juragui, was also in the vehicle.
As Wride sat in his patrol car checking the couple's information on his laptop, Garcia shot and killed Wride without warning. That shooting of Wride set off a series of events that included deputy Greg Sherwood also being shot and critically wounded, Grunwald and Garcia carjacking another vehicle, a police chase with Grunwald driving, and a shootout with police outside of Nephi that resulted in Garcia being killed.
Although she did not fire a shot, Grunwald was originally determined to be equally responsible for Garcia's crimes and was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
But in 2021, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that the jury in Grunwald's trial was not given proper instructions and threw out her murder conviction. Rather than a new trial, however, Grunwald accepted a plea deal, admitting to lesser charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault on a peace officer, both second-degree felonies. She was resentenced to consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison. At the time, prosecutors expected the new sentence would result in about five more years of prison time.
About a year-and-a-half ago, a parole hearing was held for Grunwald. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole told her to continue with her treatment and have a new psychological examination.
On Tuesday, a rehearing was held for the now-29-year-old inmate. Grunwald's father was in attendance, as was Wride-Zeeman, her husband Brad Zeeman, and other members of Cory Wride's family.
Grunwald again expressed remorse for her actions and for not doing anything to prevent the string of tragic events from happening.
"I should have somehow hinted to (Cory Wride) I needed help," she said of her interaction with him when he came up to her car door.
But most of Tuesday's hearing focused on the improvements Grunwald has made since her last parole hearing.
"I have learned so much more about myself," she told the board.
When Wride-Zeeman addressed the board, she talked about the "privilege and honor" she had in talking with Grunwald on Monday and how she wished they would have had that frank conversation years ago. She encouraged Grunwald to continue to follow the rules, no matter where she is at, and to love, support and have confidence in herself.
"I don't want to do parole hearings anymore because it breaks me," Wride-Zeeman told the board. "I completely and fully forgive Meagan.
"She's got one hell of a story, we both do."
Wride-Zeeman says she wants to stay in contact with Grunwald after she is released from prison and be part of her support group.
When the hearing ended, she and Grunwald spoke privately. Grunwald could be seen smiling while also holding a tissue to wipe away tears.
Outside the prison, Wride-Zeeman recalled how she had written a letter to Grunwald about two years ago but received no response. She assumed that Grunwald simply didn't care or have any remorse.
But after her last hearing in June of 2024, Wride-Zeeman learned that Grunwald had certain restrictions on contacting victims. She soon received a letter from Grunwald. And then arrangements were made for the two to meet on Monday.
"I saw this little girl come out from the holding area, terrified to meet me, like terrified, shaking and crying. She told me how terrified she was to meet me. And I was like, 'You don't have to be afraid of me.' I don't have any hate toward you. I don't have anything. But I want understanding, and I think that's where my grief process has brought me — I wanted to understand her," Wride-Zeeman said.
"I wanted to get to the point that I finally found peace and to where I could encourage her to live her happy. Because I'm happier now than I've ever been in my life. And I want her to be able to find that, too. And so there was a lot of tears, a lot of laughter, a lot of hugs, a lot of explaining and a lot of understanding. And a lot of honesty, and that's biggest (part) of our friendship. And as long as she's always honest with me, I'll always be her friend."
She said every time there's a parole hearing, "It is like a Band-Aid ripped off. So all of the healing I've done and worked so hard to do is like … someone is grabbing your ankles and dragging you underwater again. It's so hard because I go back to the day he was killed. I go back to all of the emotions, all of the trauma, all the blood, all the everything. Everything comes rushing back."
Before Monday, Wride-Zeeman said she asked herself if she would ever have peace. She called the meeting with Grunwald "magic for my soul and I think for hers, too, because I finally felt peace.
"Great healing can take place if you can have a conversation," she said.
Wride-Zeeman admitted she was also extremely nervous about meeting Grunwald. But she said she felt Cory's presence the entire time.
"I'm pretty sure that Cory had his hand in all of this. And I know this is where he wanted it to go because I was praying really hard before I met with her. 'What do you want me to say? What do I say? What do I do?' And the feeling and the sounds that I heard from him were, 'Make sure she feels loved.' That's all. There's a great forgiveness in love. And that's where we're at. And I'm at peace."
The full five-member board will now vote whether to grant parole to Grunwald. A decision may take a month or two, the board said.
