What Happened Jacqueline Vandagriff? New Details Charles Bryant Jr. Murder Trial Texas College Student
Jessica Wood A Texas jury sentenced a man to life in prison for the death of a college student in 2016.
According to police, Charles Bryant Jr., 31, met Jacqueline Vandagriff, 24, at a bar in Denton, Texas on Sept. 13. Only hours later, her dismembered remains were found by firefighters near Lake Grapevine.
Bryant, who worked as a personal trainer and bartender, said that on the night in question, he met up with friends for drinks and pizza. He later found himself alone at Fry Street Public House.
That same night, Vandagriff was supposed to meet a Tinder date at that same bar but was stood up. Bryant, who was supposedly sitting just one seat away from her at the bar, struck up a conversation and the two shared some drinks.
Braynt's defense attorney Glynis McGinty said the two left the bar in his car, and at one point sat in the car for 39 minutes.
"No one was scared," McGinty said. "A video from a Denton 7-Eleven showed he bought alcohol and sandwiches for two people."
Cellphone data shows Vandagriff and Bryant then went to a nearby park where the spent the next hour. It's there that Bryant claimed the two had autoerotic asphyxiation sex, and Vandagriff passed out from having a zip tie around her neck.
"What happened next? She passed out," McGinty said. "He panicked."
So much so that instead of calling the police, he disposed of her body.
However, prosecutors argued that Bryant deliberately killed Vandagriff and cut her heart out. There is no evidence that the two actually had sex.
"The defense says he freaked out," prosecutor Lucas E. Allan said. "But their own expert said it was homicidal violence. Why cut out the heart? What does it have to do with disposing of a body? He cut her heart out. I want that image to sink in."
Bryant was seen buying a shovel from Wal-Mart around 5 a.m. that night. Cellphone data traced Vandagriff to his home where police found evidence that someone tried to dig a hole along with a "round patch of grass" where a kiddie pool would have been. A bone from her body was found in the yard, and her purse was stuffed with the trash in his home.
Related Stories From YourTango:It's unclear just how her body ended up at the park 22 miles away.
And before he was convicted of Vandagriff's murder, Bryant had a restraining order put on him by an ex-girlfriend who claimed he stalked and harassed her.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 7:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTango’s Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d), Twitter (@emztweetz) or on her website at .
