New developments in the murder of Texas college student
Police charge Charles Dean Bryant with Jacqueline Vandagriff's murder
A Texas college student -- whose charred, dismembered body was found in a kiddie pool in 2016 -- died from consensual, “kinky” sex and wasn't murdered, a defense attorney argued Monday.
Charles Dean Bryant faces up to life in prison if convicted of the first-degree murder of Jacqueline Vandagriff, a 24-year-old Texas Woman’s University student. But Bryant's lawyer says the 31-year-old freaked out after Vandagriff died during sex, and, instead of calling police, he tried to dispose of her body in a park, FOX4 reported.
"He went to Walmart at 4 a.m. and bought a shovel and goes back to his house where he had left Jackie and tried to dig a hole but the earth was too hard,” attorney Glynis McGinty said.
Prosecutors, however, allege the two met at a local bar near TWU before Bryant killed Vandagriff and set her dismembered body on fire in a wooded area.
The prosecution said it intends to show several surveillance videos showing Vandagriff and Bryant at a bar -- and then another one of Bryant buying a shovel and, later, gasoline in a plastic container by himself.
A police affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News revealed Vandagriff’s cell phone was allegedly traced back to Bryant’s home and her purse was found in his trash.
Vandagriff, according to her Facebook page, was a licensed esthetician who worked as a waitress to pay for school after transferring to TWU to study nutrition.
“Tragically an evil, destructive figure stepped in front of her on that path and ended all her hopes and dreams and ultimately her life,” prosecutor Lucas Allan said.
Court records show Bryant had been arrested twice in early September 2016, just a week before his date with Vandagriff, for allegedly stalking his teenage ex-girlfriend who attended the University of North Texas. The teen told police she had seen a blue kiddie pool in his backyard.
Authorities have also charged Bryant with child pornography after police allegedly found images and videos on Bryant's phone depicting children engaging in sex acts.
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