The Murder of Brittany McGlone
For this case, I watched an episode of People Magazine Investigates. It’s season 7 episode 9, titled ‘Dead in Bed.’
A young woman is found dead at her boyfriend’s house.
Background
Brittany Danielle McGlone was born in November 1987 and grew up in the small town of Winnsboro, Texas.
Brittany was described by her mom as an old soul who never gave her any trouble. Brittany’s parents both remarried, and their blended family grew. Brittany spent a lot of time with all of her siblings growing up.
Brittany graduated with honors from Winnsboro High School in 2006. In 2007, Brittany was living at home and working 2 jobs, at Alco, and an overnight shift at Lowe’s distribution center. That same year, Brittany’s manager at Alco introduced her to her son, Jeff Reed. Brittany and Jeff began dating. Brittany’s mom, Patricia didn’t like Jeff from the very start.
Brittany McGlone
The 911 Call
Brittany and Jeff dated for about 6 months until he broke up with her. They eventually reconciled, which Patricia was unhappy about.
On May 3, 2007, Brittany said she was going to stop by Jeff’s house after her overnight shift. Brittany walked out of her house and told her mom that she loved her.
Around 2:30 p.m., Jeff called Patricia and asked if she had seen Brittany. Patricia was confused and thought that Brittany and Jeff had been together. Jeff said Brittany wasn’t answering her phone. Patricia said she hung up on him and tried calling Brittany, but her phone went straight to voicemail.
At 3:45 p.m., Deputy Mark Miller with the Wood County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call. Jeff’s mom, Debra had made the call and said that her son had found his girlfriend dead in bed.
The police arrived at the house and walked into the bedroom. Brittany was lying face up and naked in the bed. It was clear that she was deceased as she had severe head trauma. Brittany’s clothes were found on top of the boots that she had been wearing. The only item of clothing missing was her underwear.
The police collected evidence from the bedroom and nearby bathroom. They discovered that someone had recently showered. They collected evidence from the shower and drain.
The Boyfriend
There was no murder weapon found and a robbery was immediately ruled out as there was no sign of forced entry.
When Patricia was told about Brittany’s death, she believed that Jeff had killed her. She told the police that Brittany had a one-night stand with another man after her break-up with Jeff. Patricia believed that Jeff had been angry about it.
Jeff was brought in for an interview with the police. He said he had asked Brittany to come over after her overnight shift, and said she arrived around 5 a.m. Jeff said she had fallen asleep in a t-shirt and underwear.
Jeff said he woke up at 7 am and Brittany was still asleep. Jeff and his stepfather left at 9 a.m. to go and pick up his grandma in Dallas. Before they left, his sister’s boyfriend, Chad Carr had shown up at the house. Chad picked up a check and left.
Jeff arrived back at the house around 3:30 p.m. and found Brittany dead. The police said that Jeff seemed upset and shaken up over Brittany’s death.
A List of Suspects
Jeff said his friend, Cody was supposed to show up at the house later in the day to drop off weed and pick up the money that Jeff would leave for him. Jeff said Cody would leave the weed under a gnome near the front door. However, nothing was there when he arrived home.
The police tracked down everyone who was supposed to be at Jeff’s house on the day that Brittany was killed.
Chad was very standoffish when he spoke to the police. Chad gave the police an alibi and said he had been running errands all day. He said he picked up his girlfriend from school later in the day.
The police spoke to Cody next. Cody said he never went over to Jeff’s that day. He said Jeff had texted him a few times, but he never delivered the weed because he was tired of Jeff texting him.
On May 7, 2007, the police looked into the man that Brittany had a one-night stand with. He had been at work from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the day Brittany was killed and was ruled out.
A Family Secret
Shortly before Brittany’s death, she confided in her sister, Hope that her grandfather, James McGlone had been abusing her since she was young. Hope also said that James had asked her at Brittany’s funeral if she had seen the body yet.
Brittany’s aunt said the last conversation she had with her was about how James had been following her around town and harassing her. It was just a few weeks before she was killed. James’ house could be seen from Jeff’s house.
The police looked into James’ alibi. He had been at work from about 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 4 and was eliminated as a suspect.
The Evidence
About a week after Brittany’s death, a polygraph examiner arrived in Winnsboro. Jeff and Cody passed, but Chad’s test showed signs of deception. Chad said he could not have killed Brittany as he had given the police his alibi. The police didn’t believe him.
The police dug into Chad’s past. Chad had been arrested and spent time in prison in the past for attacking a woman and hitting her in the head with a jack handle. It was very similar to how Brittany had been attacked and killed.
The police searched Chad’s house. They found a t-shirt and shorts with blood on them, but no murder weapon. They also found a ski mask and two pairs of female underwear. One pair was identified as belonging to his girlfriend, but he wouldn’t say where the other pair came from. The second pair was the same size that Brittany wore. The clothing was sent in for DNA testing.
The police drove around to try and confirm Chad’s alibi. He said he woke up at his aunt’s house where he lived, drove his girlfriend to school, and then “swung by” his construction job. He said he stopped by Jeff’s around 8-8:30, and went to Alco until 9:20 a.m., which was confirmed by the store’s surveillance footage. He had an eye appointment at 10 a.m. and said he arrived 15 minutes early. However, the staff members said that Chad had called and said he was having car issues and didn’t arrive until 10:20 p.m. Chad had an hour of time that was unaccounted for.
Chad was interviewed again by the police and confronted. Chad was also told that items were being tested for evidence and that his house was being searched. Chad said his DNA wouldn’t be on Brittany or in the room. Chad was let go as the police didn’t have concrete evidence against him.
The testing came back as belonging to members who lived at Jeff’s house or Brittany. There was nothing to prove that Chad was the one who had killed Brittany.
The Arrest
Several months passed without any more leads. But, on January 8, 2008, Chad’s girlfriend told the police that she wanted to talk about him. She had broken up with Chad and had typed a document of things that she remembered on the day of Brittany’s death. She said that Chad had been acting nervous. She had smelled the type of soap that she used, on him, and asked him if he had taken a shower at her house. She said Chad never gave her an answer. She told the police that Brittany was allowed to stay at the house, but Chad wasn’t, which made him angry.
In 2012, Chad was arrested and sent to prison for felony sexual assault.
Brittany’s case went cold. Her family felt like not enough was being done. Hope created a Facebook page to remind people that Brittany’s case still mattered.
In 2021, Chad was released from prison. Brittany’s case was looked into again when a new sheriff, Kelly Cole took over.
On August 31, 2022, Chad was arrested for murdering Brittany. He had relocated to Dallas after being released from prison.
The prosecution had 90 days to present their case to a grand jury. It kept getting postponed until day 89. The grand jury ruled that there was not enough evidence to keep Chad in jail. Brittany’s family was devastated, and her case remains open.
Chad Carr
Other
James McGlone died from cancer in 2009.
The house where Brittany was killed was demolished.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My heart breaks for Brittany’s family. They were so close to finally getting justice for Brittany and it was taken away from them. Chad is clearly a piece of shit who attacks women when he doesn’t get his way. I hope he is living a miserable life and I hope he ends up in prison again, which I’m sure he will. I also know that Brittany’s family will keep fighting until someone (Chad) pays for what they did to Brittany.
Sources
https://people.com/brittany-mcglone-murdered-boyfriends-bed-case-cold-15-years-7964865
https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/15-years-later-arrest-made-2007-texas-homicide-19-year-n1298619
