The Murder of Avanell Cowgill
Thank you to Damien for the case recommendation! I watched an episode of See No Evil. It’s season 8 episode 10, titled ‘The Cookie Lady.’
An elderly woman is found dead in her home.
Background
Avanell Cowgill was only 79-years-old when she died. She had lost her husband Jim, a few years prior. Together they had two daughters that lived out of town.
Avanell often volunteered at her church. She was described as a beautiful, loving lady, who would have helped anyone close to her. Avanell also loved to bake. The smell of her freshly baked cookies would waft through her home and the church.
Avanell Cowgill
The Welfare Check
Avanell volunteered at her church on March 7, 2013. That evening, she watched TV, while she crocheted some knitted hats, that she donated to the homeless.
Avanell’s daughters tried to contact her on March 8, and again on March 9. There was no answer, so they contacted the Dallas, Texas police to do a welfare check.
Two patrol officers arrived. They called Avanell’s daughter Janet, who had asked for updates. There was no answer at the front door, so one of the officers told Janet that they would be going around to the back.
The back door was open. Janet told them that there was no way Avanell would have wanted that door open late at night. The officers told Janet that they would call her back, but they never did.
Avanell was found lying on the floor of the front hallway. She had been bludgeoned by a stool. There was blood on the carpet, and on some nearby furniture. The homicide unit was called in.
The Motive
It was apparent that Avanell had most likely died a few days before she was found.
The police looked around the home. There was no forced entry, and everything seemed to be neat and tidy.
Avanell had a home phone, and there were several messages left on her answering machine about attempts on her credit card. The police now knew that it was a robbery gone wrong.
The police contacted the credit card company. They were hesitant to give the information over the phone, but they did provide times, dates, and locations. The credit card had been used at two different Walmarts on March 7, and in the early morning hours of March 8.
The police went to both Walmarts to obtain the surveillance footage.
The Suspects
On March 7, a larger white male can be seen on footage in the electronics department. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt/jacket, and hat.
He had attempted to buy an iPad, but the transaction didn’t work. The man leaves, and comes back about 10 minutes later. The transaction worked the second time.
It was obvious that the man was trying to conceal his identity. The police described his face as “chubby, and babyish.”
On March 8, the same man can be seen walking into the second Walmart. Only this time, he is wearing a brown jacket. The man attempted to buy a laptop, but the card declined several times.
In the second surveillance footage, he appears more agitated. He walks out of Walmart with his hood up, and walks by a nearby Whataburger, and several other fast food restaurants.
The man gets picked up by a man driving a champagne colored car. The driver of the vehicle had been in Whataburger, just minutes before picking up the heavier set male.
The police did have somewhat clear images, and both images were sent to different police agencies around the area.
The images of David Herron and Daniel Brooks from surveillance cameras
Tracking a Killer(s)
The heavier set man had also attempted to use Avanell’s credit card at an ATM on the night of the murder. The bank emailed the police the surveillance footage. The heavier set male can be seen wearing a camouflage jacket, and a mask over his face.
Detective Scott Sayers believed the suspects were electronics, and then reselling them. Det. Sayers was able to send a search warrant to Apple, with the serial number, make, and model of the iPad. Apple was able to get three addresses for where the computer had been used. The first two were useless, but the third led them to an electronic company called Entertainmart.
The store had to turn the iPad on to make sure it was in working order. They also had to make a copy of the ID of the seller. The heavier set male was a man named Daniel Brooks, a 28-year-old heroin user.
Daniel had recently been arrested in nearby Richardson, Texas, with another man named David Herron. David’s booking photo was a match to the man seen in the surveillance footage from Whataburger.
The Interrogations
Daniel and David had been living out of David’s car. They were tracked to a motel room, where they were both arrested. The belongings from the motel room and from the car were collected.
Items that Daniel had stolen from Avanell’s were also found in the car. He had taken her drivers license, a purse, antique coins that they pawned for $40, silverware, and church envelopes.
The police interviewed David first because they saw him as the weak link that they could break. David admitted that Daniel had stolen the items, but had told him that no one had been in the home.
Daniel admitted to nothing. He said he and David had found the credit cards, and that he didn’t even know Avanell.
David, with his attorney present, told the police that Daniel had changed his shoes after leaving Avanell’s home. He had been wearing cowboy boots, but changed into some tennis shoes.
The boots that David was referring to had been transported from one jail to another as Daniel was moved. The cowboy boots were look at, and sure enough, they had droplets of blood on them.
David also gave the police the location of the pawn shop, where they had taken the antique coins. Daniel Brooks can be seen in the surveillance footage wearing the cowboy boots.
Justice For Avanell
The first trial began in June 2014. The defense said that someone else had committed the crime, and that Daniel conveniently had stolen items from a murder victim’s home.
The trial ended in a mistrial. There was no DNA from either Daniel or David inside Avanell’s home, or in David’s car. Avanell’s blood was only found on Daniel’s cowboy boots.
The second trial began in May 2015.
A blood spatter expert named Rudy Flores, of the Texas Rangers, testified that the size and shape of the blood spatter proved that it was transferred onto the boots while it was in flight. The blood could’ve been transferred onto the shoes during the attack and murder.
Daniel Brooks was found guilty of capital murder. He was given an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.
David Herron pled guilty to burglary, and was sentenced to 5 years. The capital murder charge against him was dropped, due to lack of evidence.
Daniel Brooks
FINAL THOUGHTS
Avanell seemed like the nicest, sweetest lady ever. The way people spoke about her reminded me of my grandmas. It breaks my heart to think that the huge man came into her home to steal from her. She was obviously overpowered, and lost her life because these greedy men needed money.
Daniel is in prison for life, but I believe David should be as well. They both lived out of David’s car, so I believe David is more involved than he’s letting on.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/avanell-cowgill-murder-where-is-daniel-brooks-now/
https://spikytv.com/where-is-daniel-brooks-now-in-the-avanell-cowgill-murder-case/
