The victim was determined to have died from severe head trauma. The only thing missing was her underwear.
During the investigation into the case of Brittany Danielle McGlone being murdered in bed at her boyfriend’s house, there were times when the police believed they had found the suspect. But after decades, everything seemed to almost return to square one.
Unsupportive Relationship
Brittany Danielle McGlone was born in November 1987 and grew up in the small town of Winnsboro, Texas, USA. She was described as mature for her age and never caused any trouble for her family.
Brittany’s parents divorced and remarried. However, all the members were quite harmonious with each other. Brittany was close to all her siblings.
Brittany graduated from high school with honors in 2006. In 2007, besides working two main jobs, the young woman also worked night shifts at a distribution center. In the same year, Brittany’s manager introduced her son – Jeff Reed – to the hardworking employee.
Brittany and Jeff quickly developed feelings for each other and started dating. However, from the beginning, Patricia – Brittany’s mother – didn’t like Jeff. About six months later, Brittany and Jeff broke up, but eventually reconciled and got back together. This made Patricia unhappy.
On May 3, 2007, before going to work, Brittany told her mother she loved her and announced that she would stop by her boyfriend’s house after finishing her night shift.
Naked Body on the Bed
Around 2:30 p.m. the next day, Jeff called his girlfriend’s mother and asked if she had seen Brittany. Patricia immediately felt worried. This mother always thought her daughter was with her boyfriend. Jeff said he couldn’t reach Brittany. Patricia immediately called her daughter’s phone, but the call went straight to voicemail.
At 3:45 p.m., the Wood County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Jeff’s mother informing them that her son had just found his girlfriend dead in bed at their house.
Police quickly arrived at the scene. Entering the bedroom, they found Brittany lying naked on the bed. The victim was determined to have died from severe head trauma. Brittany’s clothes were found on the shoes she was wearing. The only item missing was her underwear.
The investigative agency immediately collected evidence from the bedroom and nearby bathroom. They found that someone had recently used the bathroom. Evidence from the shower and drain was sent for analysis. The murder weapon was not found. Police ruled out robbery as there were no signs of forced entry.
As soon as she was notified of her daughter’s death, Patricia believed that Jeff was the one who murdered Brittany. The woman revealed to the police that Brittany had a one-night stand with another man after breaking up with Jeff. Patricia believed that Jeff was very angry about it.
Jeff was quickly taken to the police station for questioning.
The 5 a.m. Meeting
Jeff was quickly taken to the police station for questioning. Jeff said that he had arranged for his girlfriend to come to his house after her night shift. Brittany agreed and arrived around 5 a.m.
According to Jeff, Brittany went to sleep in a T-shirt and underwear. Jeff woke up at 7 a.m., and Brittany was still asleep. Then, Jeff and his stepfather left the house at 9 a.m. to go to his grandmother’s house in Dallas. Before they left, Chad Carr – Jeff’s sister’s boyfriend – appeared. Chad came to pick up an item and then left.
Jeff returned around 3:30 p.m. the same day and found Brittany dead. Earlier, he couldn’t contact his girlfriend. The police said Jeff appeared saddened and shaken by Brittany’s death.
Jeff continued to tell the police that his friend named Cody was supposed to come to his house later in the day to deliver marijuana and collect the money Jeff had left. Jeff said according to the plan, Cody would leave the marijuana under a tree near the front door. However, Jeff found nothing there when he returned home.
Secrets from the Past
Police conducted searches and interviews with everyone believed to have been at Jeff’s house on the day Brittany was killed.
Chad seemed quite hesitant when talking to the police. Chad later provided his alibi, stating that he had spent the whole day doing odd jobs and then went to pick up his girlfriend from school in the evening.
The next person the police spoke to was Cody. Cody insisted that he had never been to Jeff’s place that day. Cody admitted that Jeff had texted him several times but he didn’t go to deliver the marijuana because he felt annoyed by Jeff’s texting style.
On May 7, 2007, police found the man Brittany had a one-night stand with. This man was later ruled out due to solid alibi evidence. He had been working continuously from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the day Brittany was killed.
During the investigation, police discovered a secret of Brittany’s. She had disclosed to her younger sister shortly before her death that she had been abused by her cousin James McGlone when she was young. At Brittany’s funeral, James behaved oddly, suddenly asking Brittany’s sister if she had seen the body.
Brittany’s aunt revealed that the last conversation between her and her niece was about James seemingly stalking Brittany. A few weeks later, Brittany was killed. From Jeff’s house, which was also the crime scene, police could see James’ house.
They immediately looked into James’ alibi evidence. However, this man had been working from around 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day of the murder. James was then also removed from the suspect list.
About a week after Brittany’s death, authorities decided to conduct a lie detector test. Jeff and Cody passed quickly, but Chad did not.
The Mysterious Underwear
Chad insisted he couldn’t have killed Brittany because of his solid alibi. However, the police didn’t believe him.
The investigation dug into Chad’s past, finding out that this man had previously been arrested and imprisoned for assaulting a woman, using a weapon to strike the victim’s head. The modus operandi was similar to how Brittany was attacked and killed.
Police also searched Chad’s house. There, they found a bloodstained T-shirt and shorts but no murder weapon. They also discovered a ski mask and two pairs of women’s underwear. One pair was identified as belonging to his girlfriend, while Chad didn’t say whose the other pair was or where it came from. It was the same size as the type Brittany usually wore. All were sent for DNA testing.
Meanwhile, police continued to confirm Chad’s alibi evidence. He claimed to wake up at his aunt’s house, drive his girlfriend to school, then “hustle” with construction work. Chad stated he visited Jeff’s house around 8-8:30 a.m. and arrived at work at 9:20 a.m., appearing on surveillance cameras at the store.
Chad had an eye appointment at 10 a.m. and claimed to arrive 15 minutes early. However, employees stated Chad called to report car trouble and arrived at 10:20 a.m. So, Chad had an unaccounted hour of whereabouts and activities.
Deadlock in the Case
Chad was interrogated again by the police. He was also informed that items were being examined for evidence, and his house was being searched. In response, Chad asserted that the police wouldn’t find his DNA. Chad was released because the police lacked specific evidence against him.
Subsequent results confirmed that the DNA samples belonged to the members living at Jeff and Brittany’s house. There was nothing to prove Chad was Brittany’s killer.
Several months passed, and the investigation yielded no further leads. But on January 8, 2008, Chad’s girlfriend revealed she had broken up with him and provided information she remembered on the day Brittany died.
She said that not only did she see Chad looking worried, but she also smelled the scent of soap that her family often used appearing on him. She even asked Chad if he had showered at her place, but Chad didn’t answer.
In 2012, Chad was arrested for another sexual assault offense. Meanwhile, Brittany’s case became deadlocked.
In 2021, when Chad was released from prison, Brittany’s death was reconsidered. On August 31, 2022, Chad was arrested on charges of killing Brittany. The prosecution had 90 days to present the case before the grand jury.
But ultimately, the grand jury declared there wasn’t enough evidence to indict Chad. He was immediately set free.
So, even after 17 years, no one has been arrested in connection with Brittany’s brutal murder and assault. To this day, the 19-year-old girl’s death remains a mystery. The victim’s family stated they would not give up trying to bring the murderer to justice.
