The Murder of Jackie Vandagriff | Full Episode

foreign 's mom had texted me because she lived pretty close to Grapevine Lake and she was like look what happened developing story right now a body found in the banks of Grapevine Lake nothing happens in Grapevine nothing except for what he did the victim was identified as Jacqueline Van de Griff hello everyone my name is Jacqueline Vandegrift but friends call me Jackie Jackie Vandegrift was 24 years of age I am currently a junior here at Texas Women's University and my major is nutrition with an emphasis in wellness and just beyond this area where the shade is pretty much hitting is where we had our crime scene there are a lot of things that will shock you and this is by far the worst thing I have seen my manager texts me Charles has just been arrested [Music] I felt like the world was spinning like everything was out of control it's believed that last Tuesday Jacqueline Vandergriff met up with Charles Bryant at a bar in Denton surveillance video also cell phone pings all put Vandergriff and Bryant together [Music] I remember him just being kind of quiet I immediately said there's no way they have the wrong guy there's no way that he did this are you telling me there's no evidence that Charles Bryant killed Jackie Vandegrift not direct evidence this is kind of my calling dealing with these really strange cases the serial killers the ritualistic killings hey how you doing today Jim home with the rangers life good today or not this is not a normal homicide you know how to kill someone it all seemed it started with Caitlyn how screwed up are you from Caitlin man in the early days it was good after that first month that's when I started to see these warning signs that he was manipulative very controlling I just told him I can't do this anymore this isn't working this is over he flipped out he showed up at your dorm room out of the blue you never gave him the address no hey trespass in his mind he was seeking Revenge that we got us for stalking on his ex-girlfriend who had called the police on him how he was stalking me was completely related to Jackie vandergriff's death there's some similarities the way the Vandegrift looks and the way that Brian's ex-girlfriend looked do you think there's a chance a possibility that he walked into this bar and saw somebody reminded him of you and took his rage out on her most definitely I think that he really wanted to kill me I think that he wanted me dead [Music] foreign [Music] when I first arrived on the scene I saw a lot of police cars saw fire trucks there was a lot of activity it was September 14 2016 Just Before Dawn when John Luna a captain with the Grapevine Police Department responded to a call about a gruesome Discovery here at Grapevine Lake just off of the worn footpath you have an area that's pretty well overgrown with weeds but you can clearly see a small area that was burned just beyond where I'm standing there was a body that was obviously charred it had been set on fire the body found inside a blue kiddie pool was so badly damaged that police could not determine the most basic facts about the victim we didn't know if that was an adult or a child a male or a female the next day using fingerprints police were able to identify the victim it was Jackie Vandegrift a 24 year old nutrition major at Texas Women's University in nearby Denton I chose this major because I realized the importance of nutrition and just overall health we're both named Jacqueline named after Jacqueline Kennedy one of Jackie vandegrift's closest friends Jackie Tan they met in high school ever since then we were Jackie squared and I loved it she made me feel like I could be myself and just be goofy and funny Jackie Tan remembers her friend as a good student who was focused and trusting that girl smartest girl I've known [Music] she had her whole life ahead of her she had plans me and my detectives we went out there for her memorial service and sorry for Captain Luna the brutality of this crime hit close to home could it just as easily been my daughter that this happened to you Jackie spent the last evening of her life in Denton with this man didn't know his identity right away but this woman knew him very well he would always give me flowers always especially if he had something to be sorry about Charles Bryant lived some 20 miles away but he had been making frequent visits to Denton trying to rekindle a relationship with his ex-girlfriend Caitlyn Mathis who had recently moved there to attend the University of North Texas he was just trying to win me back and I was just like nothing is going to work Caitlyn's involvement with Bryant had begun three months earlier in June in the town of Grapevine when it came into the restaurant where Caitlyn was working as a server the day that I met him was the day after I graduated high school he had lots of muscles and Tattoos which kind of interested me at the time Bryant was then 29 working as a bartender and personal trainer you're 18 he's 29 he's got muscles and tattoos and must have made your mother crazy yeah extremely crazy in a good way though yeah she cared about me being a mother of adult children is a different role you have to let go for them to to fly away and grow up Caitlyn is the youngest of Karen hulsey's four children she says Caitlyn was hard to miss Fireball you know when she's in the house she never walked anywhere she ran everywhere and Caitlyn ran headlong into the relationship with Charles Bryant that summer of 2016. one of their regular date spots was at the park by Grapevine Lake where this picture was taken when Karen learned about the relationship she asked Caitlin to show her a picture of him I Got This Feeling Just deep inside to my bones an evil feeling and I said he's going to hurt you he's going to do something bad wow and she's like oh he's nice he's good to me he makes me feel like an adult were you thinking to yourself you're 18 you're too young to know yes but I didn't want to insult her within weeks Caitlyn was having serious doubts of her own about Brian that's when I started to see these warning signs that he was manipulative he was a bit of an artist narcissist he thought very highly of himself he would say things like oh you'll never find anyone better than me it was toxic and he was toxic in mid-august 2016 Caitlyn broke up with Brian she thought that was the last she'd see of him but the next day he showed up uninvited at her mother's house and somehow he convinced me to get back with him he was trying to say oh I can work on this and I can be better and making all these promises but Caitlyn realized she wasn't interested in promises that was one of the things that my mom taught me people do not change you you can't change someone at that point I was just waiting for the perfect time to end things a little more than a week later after Caitlyn moved away to school she told Brian it was over again later that night police found him on campus just by sheer coincidence I had made a traffic stop and he was driving that vehicle didn't Jeremy Polk was then a lieutenant for the UNT Campus Police he pulled Brian over early in the morning of August 24th I thought he was an intoxicated driver by the way he was driving and that was my focus so right now I'm at the place you on you know a race so good you could just remain secret it's all good Bryant was not over the legal limit he was charged with a few outstanding traffic tickets and they let him go later that same day he was back on Caitlyn's campus again he actually knocked on the door of my dorm room he didn't know prior to where I lived and he said oh her name was on the door did that creep you out it did at that point I was scared Caitlyn got him out of there and called campus police Captain Polk recognized Brian's name on the report and went along to interview Caitlin the next day she told us things like I I just did not like the way Charles spoke to me I did not like the way he treated me and I made that choice then and there you know I would do everything I could to help her with this situation Polk issued a no trespass order Banning Charles Bryant from the UNT Campus but once again Bryant not take no for an answer the biggest fear I have as a police officer sometimes is emotion because emotion drives people to do things you would never imagine [Music] [Applause] [Music] it was my first day there and he walked through the door and my heart just dropped to the bottom of my stomach it was August 31st 2016 a week since Charles Bryant had tracked Caitlyn Mathis down at her new dorm now he was invading her space again coming into her new restaurant on her first day of work I was like I just want you to leave what did he say to that he didn't really say anything he looked upset my new co-workers they were like yeah he was here yesterday looking for you Caitlin asked her manager to keep Bryant out but her manager said there was nothing he could do I can't work here I don't feel safe enough to work here Caitlyn went back to her old job a half hour's drive away her mother found it all hard to watch from a distance I said come home it was my motherly instinct to protect her and in order to protect her I had to have her with me but Caitlyn thought she'd be safe in her dorm a week later on September 6th what would have been their three-month anniversary Bryant was back yet again he showed up to my dorm knocked on my door and at this point I was shaking I'm all alone I actually hid in my Suite mate's closet you hid yes when I was on the phone with the police they were like we can't hear you you need to speak up and I was just afraid that he was going to hear my voice I did hear him say Caitlin I know you're in there just open up I have something for you and I'm like God what what do you what do you have for me I don't want it Bryant left flowers and a two-page letter police arrived he was gone I heard him say hey it's Charles said something for you even though for sure was him yeah 27 myself and 443 police found him outside ten minutes later you're still here yeah what's your name now in running clothes and arrested him for trespassing well you know you're not supposed to be here Brian posted Bond and was released within hours although Caitlyn had already blocked him on her phone email and social media he created a new email address and wrote to her later that same day here I am heartbroken and with a criminal record for bringing the girl I love flowers that's when it became really serious for me if an actual physical arrest doesn't stop the behavior then you're you know something is wrong Caitlyn get an emergency protective order and because Brian had kept trying to reach her after his arrest how you doing Charles get your ID with you Polk had his officers go to Brian's house the next day and charge him yet again this time for stalking this was his third arrest 14 days I told him if he continued to communicate with Caitlyn I would use every email I would use every text message I would use every phone call as a reason to have him rearrested two days later Bryant posted a five thousand dollar Bond and got out of jail he was telling his roommate that I was the crazy one in this relationship so all of his friends were kind of coming at me and they were like why you need to like drop these charges against him by September 13th Bryant was back in Denton just a half mile from Caitlyn's dorm in an area she had told them about back when they were still dating I was talking about going up to fry Street and like meeting new people Bryant went to fry Street public house that night at about 7 pm an hour later Jackie Vandegrift walked in asked about a job and ended up in a conversation with the bartender and Charles Bryant about 45 minutes later Jackie posted a message on her Twitter glad I decided to get off Tinder and walk to a bar Jackie's friend Jackie Todd Jackie was a very social person whenever she went out she would make friends with everybody and it wasn't even flirty it wasn't anything you know she was talking to the bartender talking to other people at about nine o'clock Jackie left with Bryant and the bartender she and Bryant went to another bar nearby and started talking to a group of women by 9 45 it was raining and everyone was headed out Jackie left with Charles Bryant I feel like she felt comfortable enough with him that night because she had been hanging out with him for so long that she was like hey well whatever he's just gonna drop me off it's not that far and I'll be good once in his car Brian stopped at a convenience store this was the last time Jackie Vandergriff was seen alive the day after she was found dead there was a new post on her Twitter never knew I could feel like this it was just really bizarre police suspected it was a message from her killer they knew they had to move quickly to ID the man Jackie had been with they had some luck when they tracked down the women Jackie met that night one of the friends that was with her had gotten a business card from this person because he was a fitness instructor now the Grapevine Police had Charles Bryant's name they learned about that restraining order so in my eyes that played into him as being a good suspect Grapevine Police called Captain Polk who was in the middle of a road race the first thing he told me was Charles Bryant was their main suspect in Jackie's murder and I immediately just sat down on a park bench in the middle of the race it floored me Bryant was emerging as a strong suspect but Grapevine Police did not have physical evidence okay connecting him to Jackie's death so for now Bryant was free and Polk was worried about what he might do next I called Caitlin and I just asked where are you I was like does this have to do with the murder that happened in Grapevine and he's like I I can't tell I can't specify that to you Caitlyn but are you safe right now and what did you say I said I think so he might have been wrong in the days after Jackie's murder Charles Bryant sent Caitlin several emails including this picture writing on it first kiss under this tree Once Upon a Time that photo was taken at Grapevine Lake he might have taken that picture that same day that Jackie was killed it was September 2016 and Caitlyn Mathis Charles Bryant's ex-girlfriend was very worried he might have been involved in the brutal murder at Grapevine Lake just days before I was waiting for more news to come out because at that point they hadn't even arrested him yet were you worried he was going to come after you I was I thought that's exactly what he was going to do the emails in picture Bryant had recently sent Caitlin would prove that he was still thinking about her in the days after Jackie was killed but they were also proof of something else it was prohibited for Charles to communicate with her in any manner and then if he did he would have been violating that order Captain poke thought they could use those violations to help the Grapevine Police didn't have enough to make an arrest yet so I told the detective we can get a warrant signed on some evidence we just got and at least you know get him off the street okay Charles Bryant was arrested on September 18th for violating Caitlyn's restraining order Grapevine detectives were hoping they'd soon find more evidence connecting him to Jackie's death he's brought to the Grapevine Police Department for an interview and right away he's beginning to distance himself from having any almost any interaction with Jackie you recognize who she is Senator bar and at the same time we begin serving a search warrant for his residence what can you tell me about her that's about it I guess it had been four days since Jackie's body was found plenty of time to dispose of any possible evidence but Captain Luna at Grapevine PD says they found a lot at Brian's home including a large military-style knife you know what purse was found in there too Bryant had no way to answer for any of it including two more items police found while he was in custody video of him buying a shovel the night Jackie disappeared and a kiddie pool missing from his backyard that matched the one Jackie's body was found in we have video of you with this girl you're at the bar you're walking around Walmart at four o'clock in the morning buying a shovel she's found dead in a pool that came from your backyard he even got to the point at the end of his interview with our detective where he said well I must have done it I I don't remember doing anything everything points to me it's like I had to have done it an open and shut case not even close although there was overwhelming evidence that Bryant had disposed of Jackie's body there was no evidence yet that confirmed how Jackie had died with it Bryant had killed her and that's when they reached out to me and asked if I could come in and spend some time with him and and interview him and see what I could get because you have a an expertise in dealing with this kind of personality right this is kind of my calling Jim Holland is the senior member of an elite team of Texas Rangers a select division of the Texas state police he specializes in interviewing some of the country's most prolific killers and analyzing their thoughts hey how you doing today and Charles Bryant seemed to fit the bill Jackie's body had been dismembered before being set on fire how do you begin to understand a mind that would do that a lot of these people I actually want to tell you they want to tell someone at first Bryant kept to his claim that he didn't remember a thing yeah that's crazy because I really don't remember me the idea that he doesn't remember doing it um no it's absolute nonsense so you knew Charles Bryant remembered exactly what had happened oh yes absolutely and your job was just to pull that out of him right you know you're not a violent dude you haven't uh haven't really been in trouble Holland says his strategy was to try to make friends with Bryant and get him talking you obviously work out I mean you're stud right you don't want him to look at you as a law enforcement officer you want him to think of you as a friend a Compadre a drinking buddy you know you kind of go back to what two boys would talk about in a high school locker room you know about the the girl they kissed on Friday night you don't have any issues with girls just blowing my mind and Holland suggested possible scenarios to see if Bryant would take it from there okay so so something happens bam there's there's a snap and we need to figure out what that is and maybe you know she got mad maybe she's giving you all the signals and and then Cuts you off I mean there could be all kinds of different things going on here right I mean chicks right you know chicks you know as we're going through the interview there's I'm watching him I'm um I guess in a way a human lie detector I'm um I'm reading him and I'm throwing things at him in which I know the answer and I'm looking for his responses whether they're false uh or true under the pretense of helping Bryant remember what happened Holland suggested they do a memory exercise what we're going to do is these mind exercises which means we're going to move back in time Bryant who first claimed he didn't know who Jackie was then seemed to remember her he said he could see her coming into the bar I think she was looking for a job and offering her a ride home there's tons of things in this that I can tell you right over a pizza as Holland tried to steer Brian to confess probed about a possible motive but what does everyone want to know Holland eventually cut to the Chase and asked if what happened with Jackie was really all about Caitlyn is there a time that you pictured her as this girlfriend that did you wrong or did anything like that come into play the level of nonsense that came out of his mouth at different points about that was just astonishing do you think Charles Bryant looks around the bar and sees Jacqueline Vandegrift ah she looks like Caitlyn it wouldn't surprise me if you actually mistook her at first you know that saw her from behind and thought man you know my ex is here I think in his mind that whole night I think that's what he pictured after the murder right after the murder he took Jackie's phone and used it to add me on Facebook [Music] when Texas Ranger Jim Holland was brought in to interrogate Charles Bryant the nature of the crime made him wonder if Brian's brain was wired like the serial killers he'd encountered in what way is the mind of a serial killer different from common criminal you know generally people like that tend to be sociopathic or Psychopathic mindsets and it's just a different game psychopath would be someone who's basically born with a scar on their brain then a sociopathic mindset is something that Society has brought on something happened to them that changed their psyche something maybe had happened in his childhood Christy Dixon got a glimpse of Charles Bryant's psyche firsthand she met him on a dating app the year before Jackie vandegrift's death he seemed pretty quiet and reserved almost like he was shy by the second or third time that we were hanging out I noticed he was getting pretty attached pretty quickly and I just was not there it was very casual to me after she broke things off he continued to pursue her Bryant even told her that he loved her Christy says they'd never even shared a kiss it was a little too much too soon too fast I work with abused children and that to me kind of stuck out Christie says that's when she asked Brian about his childhood he told her he had been molested a claim that 48 Hours could not independently verify I remember thinking that makes sense I'm not a psychologist or anything but his behavior sort of came off to me as maybe an abused child or someone who is just needing that extra love that most people probably aren't seeking still Christy thought he was harmless and stayed in touch I thought he was just a really nice guy and felt sorry for him I'm not an angry guy I'm not aggressive as Ranger Holland continued his interrogation he wanted to see if Bryant would answer the key question how did Jackie Vandegrift die her autopsy didn't provide many answers there's a lot we didn't know we didn't know where it occurred we didn't know exactly how it broke down and so that's what my goal was Holland wondered if the crime had a sexual element but initially Bryant denied anything sexual took place [Music] you don't no normally I recall having sex after three more hours of interrogation Brian said they did have sex kinky sex according to Bryant Jackie wanted to be choked with an oversized zip tie that just happened to be in his car she didn't fight you in any way when you put it on the consensual sex aspect of it was was one of those things that no I felt strongly that he was lying about and Bryant also claimed that neither he nor Jackie had tightened the zip tie intentionally okay so you think he's tightened up on its own basically not some Shadow I could have a snag on something or okay then what happened you know she's not responsive shaker are you just thinking this is a complete and total lie yeah it's total fabrication Diddy killer yes absolutely when you deal with these people it's it's so rare that you would sit down with them and they would just tell you A to Z this is what occurred and they're always going to leave out things that make them look really bad in other words there's an excuse I'm not a bad person I didn't mean for this to happen it was an accident although Bryant was evasive about how Jackie died as Holland led him through the memory exercise Bryant went into gruesome detail about how he disposed of her body okay what do you see in the pool with the originals all right now tell me exactly what you see occurring after that I'm gonna go down that true and what happens next let's put it on fire the fire why do you burn the body even if he couldn't admit to murder Bryant seemed to waver between denial and acceptance at one point conceding that the evidence showed he had to have done it I can't fight it it's obviously after an intense six-hour interrogation and with mounting evidence Charles Bryant was finally charged with Jackie vandegrift's murder Christy Dixon could not believe the news that night I actually was scared to go to sleep I had nightmares he had never threatened me before but just the fact that someone that I felt that I knew had murdered someone potentially I was terrified for Caitlyn Mathis her worst fears were confirmed and when she tried to learn more about the woman Bryant killed she made a shocking discovery on Facebook I looked up Jackie Vandergriff and I realized oh my God I'm already friends with her Caitlyn says that digital friendship began after Jackie's death you got a friend request from Jackie Vandegrift yes Caitlyn believes that Facebook friend request could only have come from one person Charles Bryant that really sounds diabolical it was Brian pleaded not guilty to Jackie's murder his defense was the same story he told Ranger Holland these two young people met they consumed a lot of alcohol our position is they had sex kinky sex albeit and she died Brian's court appointed defense attorney glennis McGinty says Jackie vandegrift's death was a tragic accident are you telling me there's no evidence that Charles Bryant killed Jackie Vandegrift not direct evidence prosecutors Lucas Allen and Anna Hernandez believed the evidence they did have would be enough they also knew that most jurors want to motive they weren't sure they'd be able to tell this jury why they thought Jackie was targeted you have to wonder what is driving this person to do something like that in your minds there is no doubt that the murder of Jackie Vandergriff is connected to the stalking of Caitlyn Mathis yes I think we believe that definitely she might have just been victim number one with Caitlyn being victim number two to help prove this the prosecution was hoping the judge would allow Caitlyn to testify against her ex-boyfriend turned stalker in open court I felt sick [Music] what do you think the most telling part of Charles Bryant's interview take a look at the evidence in the case against Bryant on Facebook at 48 hours [Music] Jackie was the most special person [Music] I know I'll never meet someone like her again in April 2018 a year and a half after Jackie vandegrift's untimely death Charles Bryant was standing trial for her murder her friend Jackie Tan could not bring herself to be there I wanted to go but I'm going to be honest I couldn't look at him Charles Bryant would have to answer for a long list of items the prosecution had collected including that giant zip tie the shovel he purchased the night Jackie died and that large knife which police believe he used to cut up her body all found at his house this is something that you pray every night does not happen to your child when they go off to school investigators had also found a stun gun in his car with Jackie's DNA on it but it appears Jackie was spared at least one harm prosecutors Anna Hernandez and Lucas Allen said the medical examiner was able to run tests on Jackie's remains and found no evidence of sexual assault there was Zero evidence to support that they had any type of sexual encounter prosecutors say this undermines Brian's story that this was kinky sex gone wrong his attorney glennis McGinty how could they have had sex if there's no evidence no evidence to the degree of no sperm found in her that doesn't mean they didn't have some type of consensual sexual uh encounter she likes it prosecutors chose not to play that interrogation tape for the jury which meant Bryant would have to take the stand if he wanted jurors to hear his version of events he elected not to shouldn't he be explaining to the jury why he's not at fault for her death and then that flies in the face of our constitutional rights but the defense knows it has an uphill battle to convince a jury that Brian is not guilty of murder while admitting he disposed of Jackie's body if he says it was just an accident why didn't he call for help sure fair question intoxicated panicked and his mind would not process all of that to make a rational decision that you or I would have made call the police but Bryant went further than simply discarding Jackie's body much much further and prosecutors wanted the jury to hear their Theory a huge piece of that story was the stalking but before the jury could hear from Caitlyn the judge would have to rule on whether or not to allow this evidence how is he his boyfriend local TV cameras were there when without the jury present Caitlyn took the stand and faced her ex I was disgusted just to see his face did he look at you did you meet eyes at one point we had to when they made me described to the court what he was wearing and he just had this smirk on his face there's nothing really that can prepare you for that is there no the second I walked out those doors I started bawling in the end the judge ruled against Caitlyn being able to tell her story to the jury it was definitely a real blow to us that was the right decision why she had not been convicted of anything with Caitlyn as the jury went out to deliberate the defense was hopeful I don't believe that they could prove that he murdered her I don't think that they prove that but would the jury agree they were out for a little over two hours and even without hearing Caitlyn's Story We the jury find the defendant Charleston Bryant Jr guilty of the offense of murder Charles Bryant was found guilty of Jackie vandegrift's murder and dismemberment to your way of thinking was Justice Done yes I knew she was up there and said thank you because prosecutors had no evidence Bryant committed another crime at the same time as Jackie's murder like Raper kidnapping he was not eligible for the death penalty he was sentenced to life as terrible as this is to say but I wanted the death penalty under Texas law Bryant could be eligible for parole after 30 years Caitlyn says she feels like she's still looking over her shoulder and always will be I fear that when he gets out he'll come and find me and do something to either me or someone that I love that's my biggest fear [Music] ever since this happened Caitlyn and her mother have been thinking about Jackie and her family this whole time I wanted to reach out but I didn't know how they felt nearly two years after Jackie died they finally met her grandmother bless her heart she immediately came up to us and to Caitlyn and hugged her and said I've been so worried about you these past two years wow [Music] Karen why is this the part that gets you he took away their little girl in the pain I saw in their eyes I could feel their pain and yet the grandmother was telling Caitlin she was worried about Caitlyn yes you sound like very special people they are [Music] saying she struggled he survived and Jackie did not [Music] this so easily could have been you and some days I wish it was it's just the guilt that eats me up sometimes I would have easily had taken her place if I had the chance [Music] Jackie vandegrift's family has endowed an internship in health and wellness at Texas Women's University in her name a young mother murdered there was only one suspect in this case who else would want this sweet young lady murdered decades later the prime suspect arrested but a witness changes everything I kept the secret for 30 years 48 hours Saturday at 10 9 Central on CBS foreign

Channel: 48 Hours

Views: 3,479,462

Keywords: 48 hours, cbs news, jackie vandagriff, charles bryant, true crime, denton texas, murder, university of north texas

Id: UUCEDyr2iNI

Length: 42min 20sec (2540 seconds)

Published: Tue May 02 2023